m? 


THE  GREAT  CRONIN  MYSTERY 

Or  the  Irish  Patriot's  Fate 


- 


Frontispiece. 


THE  GREAT 


OR 


THE  IRISH  PATRIOT'S  FATE 


A  Complete  and  Accurate  History  of   the  Assassination  of 
Dr.  Patrick  Henry  Cronin,  the  Search  for  the  Murder- 
ers, the   Inquest,   the   Trial,   and   the  Verdict. 


BY  ONE  OF  AMERICA'S  MOST  FAMOUS  DETECTIVES. 


COPYRIGHT,  1889,  BY  LAIRD  &  LEE. 


Illustrated  with  nearly  one  hundred  original  engravings  of  scenes  and 
incidents  in  the  case. 


CONTENTS. 


CHAPTER  I. 

PAGE. 

An  Official's  Unpleasant  Work  — "  Shadowing"  a  Sus- 
pect— The  White  Horse  Before  Dr.  Cronin's  Office 
—How  "This  and  That,"  Put  Together,  Form 
Links  in  a  Connected  Chain  ....  7 

CHAPTER  II. 

May  4, 1889,  the  Fateful  Night— Cronin,  the  Patriot  and 
Physician,  Called  Upon  —  Quick  to  Aid  Distress, 
He  Responds — All  Interests  Ignored  for  Humanity 
—The  Impatient  Visitor— A  Card  That  Calls 
Cronin  to  Eternity — He  Goes  to  His  Death — Mur- 
der— Suspicion — On  the  Trail  -  -  19 

CHAPTER  III. 

Assassinated — Packed  Like  Butchered  Brute  in  the 
Receptacle  Provided — The  Murderer's  Midnight 
Drive.- — Police  Watchfulness — The  Bloody  Trunk 

—  Search  for  What  It  Had  Contained     -  -    36 

CHAPTER  IV. 

Hunting  for  Evidence  —  Contradictions  —  A  Letter — 
The  Trip  to  Canada — Proof  of  a  Deep  Laid  Plot 

—  Long's  Lying  Reports  -    42 

CHAPTER  V. 

More  of  Long  and  His  Lies — A  Previously  Prepared 
Story — Work  of  the  Conspirators,  Starkey  and  a 
Bribed  Reporter  ------  -  56 


IV  CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER  VI. 

Attempt  to  Mislead — Lies!  Lies!  Lies! — A  Bogus  Inter- 
view with  the  Murdered  Man — First  Out-Cropping 
of  the  Murderous  Plot  -  63 

CHAPTER  VII. 

More  Tales  from  Toronto — Attempt  to  Involve  "  A 
Woman  in  the  Case  " — The  Conspirators'  Emissa- 
ries Still  at  Work  -  -  -  -  76 

CHAPTER  VIII. 

The  Conklings'  Hot,  Honest  Denunciation  of  the  Plot- 
ters; They  Declare  that  Cronin  Is  Murdered — "  The 
Pinkertons  "  at  Fault — Regular  Police  Active  in 
the  Work — Prisoners  "Sweated"  -  -  94 

CHAPTER  IX. 

Woodruff's  Wonderful  Wandering  —  The  Chicago 
Papers,  False  Information  —  Still  Harping  on  a 
Woman  —  Detectives  That  Do  Not  Detect  -  -128 

CHAPTER  X. 

The  White  Horse  and  the  Woman  Once  More  —  The 
Detective  Meets  and  Interviews  Her  —  Chloro- 
formed - 143 

CHAPTER  XI. 

Discovery  of  Cronin's  Body  —  The  Catch-Basin  of 
Death — Naked  Evidence — The  Gory,  Battered 
Corpse  Laid  Open  to  View  —  Friends  Look  at  the 
Body  —  Identification  Beyond  Question  -  -176 

CHAPTER  XII. 

The  Murder  Anticipated  —  "I  Am  Not  Surprised  "  — 
Cronin  Knew  He  Was  Doomed — Woodruff  Ro- 
mances Still  More 268 


CONTENTS.  V 

CHAPTER  XIII. 

Theories  and  Known  Threats  —  Cronin's  Friends  Active 
but  Close-Mouthed  —  Police  Force  All  Astir — Loud 
and  Open  Denunciation  of  the  Murdered  Man  -  284 

CHAPTER  XTV. 

The  Homo  of  the  Assassins  —  Carlson's  Cottage — 
Story  of  Its  Renting — Bloody,  Fatal  Footprints  — 
Paint  Fails  to  Blot  Out  Blood— The  Haunt  of  the 
Homicides 312 

CHAPTER  XV. 

More  Clues — Simmons  Rents  a  Flat  and  Buys  Furni- 
ture—  Frank  Williams  Pays  for  the  Carlson  Cot- 
tage— That  Trunk — Cronin's  Coffin  Bought  Weeks 
in  Advance — Money  Is  Lavished  to  Secure  the  End 
— Williams  Is  Martin  Burke  -  -  334 

CHAPTER  XVI. 

The  White  Horse  and  That  Buggy  Are  Found — Ways  of 
Police  and  Detective  Working — Coughlin  and  His 
Friend — Captain  Schaack  Hears,  but  Takes  No 
Action — Dinan,  the  Liveryman,  Tells  Fruitful 
Facts  -  394 

CHAPTER  XVII. 

Arrests  for  the  Murder — Officials  Charged  with  Com- 
plicity—  O'Sullivan  the  Iceman  Gathered  In  — 
The  Brother  of  Slaughtered  Cronin  Makes  an  Affi- 
davit— Coughlin  the  Detective  in  a  Cell  -  -  412 

CHAPTER  XVIII. 

Testimony  Turning  Up — Forging  Links  in  the  Chain — 
Woodruff  Again  Talks — The  Drive  with  the  Trunk 
Containing  Cronin's  Body — Miscalculation  of  the 
Murderers — Changes  of  Plans  Which  Led  to  Dis- 
covery   424 


vi  CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER  XIX. 

Laid  at  Rest — The  Cold  Clay  of  Cronin  Consigned  to 
Earth— Demonstrations  at  the  Funeral — Honest, 
Loyal  Irishmen  Attest  Their  Attachment  for  the 
Deceased 433 

CHAPTER  XX. 

Hunting  the  Assassins  —  Summary  of  Facts,  Dates  and 
Incidents,  Contradictions  and  Proofs  —  More  Com- 
plications    ...  440 

CHAPTER  XXI. 

Wide  and  Weary  Search — Grappling  for  Cronin's 
Clothes  —  Catching  a  Clue  Near  the  Catch-Basin — 
The  Woman  and  the  Man  Appear  Again  -  -  442 

CHAPTER  XXII. 

A  Quarrel,  and  What  It  Revealed  —  Letters  That  Were 
Found— What  Was  Written  — What  Was  Heard— 
A  Terrible  Struggle — Another  Murder  Attempted  457 

CHAPTER  XXIII. 

Hard  Fact — History,  True,  Reliable  and  Complete  — 
Truth  Silences  Fiction — A  Word  for  Men  Mis- 
judged—  Irishmen  Are  Not  Assassins  —  Adopted 
Citizens  Who  Are  an  Honor  to  Our  Land  —  A  Pro- 
test Against  Prejudice  -  -  462 

CHAPTER  XXIV. 

Alexander  Sullivan,  the  Irish- American  Leader,  Held 
for  Complicity  in  Cronin's  Murder,  Taken  Into  Cus-  » 
tody  and  Locked  in  a  Cell  in  the  County  Jail  —  A 
Sketch  of  Alexander  Sullivan's  Life — The  Charges 
of  Arson  Made  Against  Him — His  Political  Move- 
ments, Prominence  and  Rewards  —  His  Shooting 
of  Hanford,  and  Trial  for  Murder  -  -  -  471 


CONTENTS.  Vii 

CHAPTER  XXV. 

Illustrations  of  Triangular  Tactics — Mrs.  Mackey 
Lomasney's  Testimony  Before  the  Coroner  —  How 
Captain  Lomasney  Was  Detailed  to  Sure  Destruc- 
tion —  Other  Patriots  Who  Suffered  -  -  -477 

CHAPTER  XXVI. 

Martin  Burke,  the  "  Frank  Williams  "  Who  Rented 
the  Cottage,  One  Day  Destitute,  the  Next  Day 
Lavish  with  Money  —  Where  Did  He  G-et  It  ?  —  His 
Flight  to  Winnipeg,  Manitoba — -His  Known  Associ- 
ates—  Loud  Spoken  Curses  Against  Cronin  — 
Arrested,  He  Resists  Extradition  —  Fate  and  Jus- 
tice Are  Against  Him  —  He  Is  Brought  to  Trial  -  482 

CHAPTER  XXVII. 

A  Startling  Change  of  Scene — New  Plot  to  Defeat  the 
Ends  of  Justice — Attempt  to  Bribe  Men  Who  Were 
"  Fixed  "  to  Be  on  the  Jury  —  Court  Officials 
Implicated,  Arrested  and  Imprisoned  —  Failure  of 
the  Sub-Conspiracy  ------  499 

CHAPTER  XXVIII. 

A  Jury  Secured  at  Last  —  Twelve  Good  Men  and  True  — 
Names  of  the  Jurymen — The  Long  Hunt  for  Men 
Who  Would  and  Could  Serve— What  It  Cost  the 
State  to  Find  Them  -  -  497 

CHAPTER  XXIX. 

The  Trial — Masterly  Summing  Up  of  the  Plot — Bitter 
Arraignment  of  the  Assassins — A  Terrible  Sum- 
mary of  Startling  Facts  —  Proof,  Proof,  Proof,  from 
the  First  to  the  Bitter  End  ...  506 

i 


vili  CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER  XXX. 

War  in  Camp  20 — Brave  Words  of  Brave  Men — No 
Affiliation,  No  Truce  with  Robbers  and  Traitors 
— "  Let  Us  Know  the  Truth  " — Outspoken  Captain 
T.  F.  O'Connor — Boiler-Maker  McGarry's  Ringing 
Blows  514 

CHAPTER  XXXI. 

Desperate  Fighting  of  Defense  —  Stubborn  Resistance  of 
The  Prosecutors — A  Fair  Field  and  No  Favor — 
Gallant  Battle  of  Counsel  on  Both  Sides — The 
"  Cream  "  of  All  That  Was  Given  to  Judge  and 
Jury — No  Favors  Asked  or  Given  —  Long  Chap- 
ters Now,  Full  of  Facts,  Terrible  Truths  and 
Startling  Sensations  -  -  469 

CHAPTER  XXXII. 

New  Bloody  Evidence — Dr.  Cronin's  Clothes,  Surgical 
Instruments,  Pocket  Case,  Prescription  Book,  Etc., 
Found  in  a  Catch-Basin — Full  Particulars  of  the 
Find— Pet  Theory  of  the  Prosecution  Upset — But, 
Favored  by  Providence  and  Fortune,  Their  Case  Is  as 
Good  as  Won— What  Did  the  Tin  Box  Contain?  -  480 

CHAPTER  XXXIII. 

More  Damning  Proof  Against  Coughlin,  O'Sullivan 
and  Kunze — News  of  the  Finding  of  Cronin's  Clothes 
Received  in  Court — A  Suicide  in  the  Shadow  of  the 
Court —  The  Evidence  Before  the  Jury  and  the  World 
— The  Arguments  of  Counsel  for  the  Prosecution  and 
for  the  Defense — The  Charge  of  the  Judge  —  The 
Verdict  of  the  Jury,  and  How  It  Was  Received  by  the 
Prisoners— End  of  the  Great  Cronin  Mystery  -  -  491 


LIST  OF  ENGRAVINGS. 

Frontispiece 

Portrait  of  Dr.  Cronin — Engraved  from  a  Photograph 

Taken  Just  Before  His  Death 
Some  Amateur  Detectives 
Dr.  Cronin's  Office  in  Windsor  Theater 
Mr.  and  Mrs.  Conklin 

Dr.  Cronin's  Office  in  Chicago  Opera  House  Building 
Dr.  Cronin's  Reception-Room  in  Chicago  Opera  House 

Building 

Dr.  Cronin  Leaving  His  Home  on  the  Night  of  May  4th 
Escape  of  the  Murderers  with  Dr.  Cronin's  Body 
The  Wagon  Route 
"  I  Wonder  if  He  Is  in  There?  " 
Detectives  Traversing  the  Lake  View  Sand  Hills 
Detectives  Sounding  a  Mud  Hole 
Grappling  Hooks 
The  Mysterious  Wagon 
A  Police  Conference  with  the  Mayor 
"  Sweating  "  a  Prisoner 
Cottage  in  which  Dr.  Cronin  Was  Murdered 
The  Carlson  Family 
A  Faint  Footprint  in  the  Hall 
Spot  Where  the  Trunk  Was  Found 
Some  Blood  Stains 
Identifying  the  Body  at  the  Morgue 
Appearance  of  Face  and  Skull  of  the  Corpse 
Iceman  O'Sulli van's  House 
Carlson's  Cottage 
Iceman  O'Sullivan's  Barn 
Murderer's  Cottage 
Some  Points  of  Interest 
Some  of  the  Furniture 
The  Coroner's  Jury 
Portrait  of  Iceman  O'Sullivan 
Portrait  of  Daniel  Coughlin 
Young  Carlson  Watching  O'Sullivan  and  the  Unknown 


X  LIST  OF  ENGRAVINGS. 

Scene  at  the  Church 

At  the  Cemetery 

Crowd  at  Cemetery  Entrance 

Placing  the  Body  in  the  Vault 

Mrs.  Conklin  on  the  Witness  Stand 

Miss  Agnes  McNearney 

Medical  Witnesses 

Three  Friends  of  Dr.  Cronin 

Mrs.  Conklin  Exhibits  a  Plan  of  Her  Rooms 

Mrs.  Dinan  Testifies 

Captain  Villiers  on  the  Stand 

Portrait  of  Dr.  Cronin's  Brother 

Portrait  of  Reporter  Beck 

Mrs.  Hermann  Is  Sworn 

Portrait  of  Miss  McNearney 

Portraits  of  Mr.  Foster,  Beggs'  Attorney 

Portrait  of  Martin  Burke,  One  of  the  Defendants 

Portrait  of  John  F.  Beggs,  one  of  the  Defendants 

Portrait  of  John  Kunze 

Portrait  of    Superintendent    Hubbard,   Chief  of  the 

Chicago  Police 

Portrait  of  Alexander  Sullivan 

Portrait  of  the  Five  Defendants,  Taken  in  the  Court- 
Room 

Portrait  of  Judge  McConnell 
Portrait  of  State's  Attorney  Longenecker 
Portrait   of   Luther  Laflin  Mills,  One  of  the  State's 

Assistants 
Portrait  of  George  C.  Ingham,  One    of    the    State's 

Assistants 
Portrait  of  W.  S.  Forrest,  Leading  Attorney  for  the 

Defendants 
View  of  the  Court-Room,  Showing  a  Memorable  Scene 

in  the  Trial 
The    Catch-Basin   in    which  Dr.   Cronin's  Body  Was 

Found 

Portrait  of  Andrew  Foy 
Portrait  of  M.  J.  Kelly 


PUBLISHERS'  ANNOUNCEMENT. 


In  placing  this  volume  before  the  public  the  pub- 
lishers feel  it  their  duty  to  announce  that  it  is  not  a 
work  of  fiction.  It  is  rather  a  book  of  reference, 
issued  for  the  purpose  of  giving  a  truthful  account 
of  the  greatest  crime  of  the  age.  While  the  news- 
papers of  the  country  have  been  publishing  reports 
of  the  case  from  day  to  day,  these  reports  are  con- 
fusing, and  in  many  cases  totally  inaccurate.  There 
is  an  unmistakable  demand,  in  every  part  of  the 
English-speaking  world,  for  a  reliable  and  fair  record 
of  the  solid  facts  of  the  case,  and,  while  the  con- 
secutive arrangement  of  these  facts  in  book  form 
will  present  a  history  of  one  of  the  most  remark- 
able cases  on  record,  at  the  same  time  the  recital 
will  be  found  of  thrilling  interest  to  old  and  young. 
The  startling  account  of  this  terrible  crime  will  be 
found  stranger  than  any  fiction. 


THE   CRONIN  MYSTERY 

CHAPTER  I. 

A   CIRCUMSTANCE   UNPUBLISHED. 

I  AM  a  detective! 

Not  one  of  those  fellows  written  about  in  the 
thousand  and  one  exciting  and  highly  improbable 
so-called  "  detective  stories."  I  do  not  carry 
twenty  or  thirty  complete  changes  of  costume 
around  me  continually,  neither  have  I  my  pockets 
filled  with  wigs  and  whiskers,  mustaches  and  false 
eyebrows,  etc.,  etc.  I  cannot  outrun  a  horse,  or 
excel  a  fish  in  his  natural  element.  I  am  a  fair 
runner,  a  pretty  well  trained  athlete,  a  good  judge 
of  character,  and  can  form  a  pretty  good  theory  as 
to  the  whys  and  wherefores  of  my  profession.  I 
am  simply  an  ordinary  matter-of-fact,  common- 
place, every-day  sort  of  man,  well  up  in  my  busi- 
ness, and  manage  to  live  by  my  labors. 

The  ideas  of  the  majority  of  people  regarding 
detectives  are  very  peculiar,  I  may  say,  radically 
and  entirely  wrong.  The  work  is  not  easy  by  any 
manner  of  means,  and  not  always  well  paid.  Of 
course,  like  any  other  business,  the  most  skillful 
operatives  receive  the  best  wages,  and  I  will  say, 
modestly,  that  I  have  been  rather  more  successful 


8 


THE  GREAT  CRONIN  MYSTERY 


than  many  of  my  fellows,  and  so  cannot  complain. 
I  have  devoted  myself  of  late  to  that  branch  of  my 
profession  known  as  "  shadowing,"  which  consists 
principally  in  keeping  some  particular  individual 
continually  in  sight  —  keeping  so  close  to  the  party 
in  question  as  to  form  a  part  and  parcel  of  his  very 
shadow — providing  he  casts  one  —  and  so  comes 
the  title. 


Some  Amateur  Lake  View  Detectives. 

"  Shadowing,"  although  monotonous,  tiresome 
work,  is  well  paid  for,  that  is,  if  you  are  employed 
by  a  jealous  wife  or  husband  to  keep  track  of  the 
other  (not  always  the  better)  half;  for  wives  and 
husbands  are  not  always  faithful,  and  many  of  them 
need  watching,  and  jealousy  furnishes  considerable 
work  for  the  "shadower."  My  name,  it  is  not 
necessary  to  state.  I  am  well  known  in  the  city  of 
Chicago,  and  I  do  not  think  it  necessary  to  inform 
the  public  of  that  which  would  not  enlighten  or 


A  CIRCUMSTANCE   UNPUBLISHED  9 

benefit  them  any  as  to  the  subject  upon  Which  I  am 
about  to  write,  and  so  I  withhold  my  cognomen, 
not  because  I  am  ashamed  of  it,  but  for  the  reason 
I  have  stated  above. 

My  office  is  situated  in  a  prominent  part  of  the 
city.  From  my  front  window  I  can  look  out  on  the 
scene  of  life  and  bustle  which  passes  along  before 
my  eyes  from  early  morning  until  late  at  night.  A 
business  man  must  needs  be  located  where  the 
exigencies  of  his  business  call  for  his  presence, 
and  also  where  he  can  be  found  when  needed.  It 
costs  me  quite  a  sum  for  rent,  but  I  can  afford  it. 
I  like  to  have  things  of  the  very  best,  no  matter 
what  they  cost.  Money  is  provided  for  the  purpose 
of  bringing  contentment  and  pleasure,  and,  although 
it  does  not  always  do  so  in  my  case,  I  must  say  that 
it  fulfills  its  proper  mission  in  the  world. 

I  am  married,  and  am  the  happy,  proud  father 
of  two  fine  children.  A  business  man  should  have 
a  wife.  A  woman's  advice  is  worth  a  great  deal 
to  a  man  sometimes.  Most  women  have  pretty 
clear  ideas,  and  shrewd  heads  upon  their  shoulders. 

The  little  clock  upon  my  office  desk  had  just 
chimed  the  hour  of  4  p.  m.  on  the  4th  day  of 
May,  1889. 

I  had  been  out  during  the  torenoon  attending  to 
a  case  which  required  but  little  skill.  A  boy  had 
robbed  his  father,  abstracted  a  small  amount  of 
money  from  the  till,  while  the  parent's  back  was 
turned,  and  had  run  away  from  home  with  his 
spoils. 


IO  THE  GREAT  CRONIN  MYSTERY 

The  father  —  an  honest  German  —  had  put  the 
case  into  my  hands  the  day  before. 

"  Pring  de  poy  pack  to  his  home,"  he  had  said, 
with  tears  in  his  eyes.  "  I  vont  sent  him  to  chail. 
He  vas  a  goot  poy,  but  he  goes  mit  a  pad  gang. 
If  he  gomes  pack,  I'll  forgif  him  eferyting. " 

I  found  the  boy,  took  him  home,  received  a 
twenty-dollar  goldpiece  for  my  trouble,  and  was 
satisfied  with  myself  and  the  world  at  large,  as.  I 
lay  back  upon  the  lounge  in  my  office  and  heard  the 
clock  strike  four. 

The  silvery  echo  had  scarcely  died  away  before 
I  heard  the  sound  of  a  heavy  tread  in  the  hall  out- 
side my  door. 

A  man,  beyond  the  possibility  of  doubt,  and  a 
man  to  see  me;  for,  the  next  moment,  my  door 
opened,  and  a  genuine  specimen  of  the  genus 
homo  entered. 

I  have  always  made  it  a  rule  to  take  in  the  pecu- 
liarities of  new  acquaintances  the  moment  I  see 
them  first.  I  study  the  eyes,  mouth,  nose  and  gen- 
eral make-up.  I  said  before  that  I  was  a  pretty 
good  judge  of  character,  and  I  have  perfected  my- 
self simply  by  using  .my  eyes  in  the  manner 
described. 

I  knew  my  caller  before  he  had  advanced  two 
steps  into  the  room.  He  carried  his  character 
upon  his  face.  Not  a  good  character,  either  —  one 
that  I  would  not  have  felt  proud  of  if  I  had  been 
the  possessor  of  it.  Treacherous,  deceitful,  mer- 
cenary—  that  was  what  the  shifting  eyes  and  thin, 
peaked  nose  told  me. 


A  CIRCUMSTANCE  UNPUBLISHED  II 

"  This  is  the detective  agency?  "  he  said, 

in  a  squeaky  voice. 

I  replied  in  the  affirmative. 

"  I  would  like  to  see  Mr.    ,"  he  continued. 

I  rose,  bowed  respectfully,  not  cringingly,  and 
informed  the  fellow  that  I  was  that  individual. 

He  breathed  a  sigh  of  apparent  satisfaction. 

"  I  want  to  see  you  upon  an  important  affair," 
he  said,  sitting  down  and  dropping  his  hat  upon 
the  floor.  "  That  is,  it's  important  to  me." 

"  Go  ahead,"  I  replied. 

He  looked  cautiously  around  the  room. 

'  There  is  no  one  present,  nor  in  hiding,"  I  said, 
to  reassure  him. 

"  I  wouldn't  want  any  one  but  you  to  hear  what  I 
have  to  say,"  he  said,  in  a  confidential  tone;  "  you 
see,  it's  about  my  wife." 

I  understood  the  case  at  once,  but  allowed  him 
to  proceed. 

He  did  so. 

"  You  see,  we  have  been  married  for  four  years. 
I  am  pretty  well  fixed,  and  I  think  my  money  won 
her.  I  have  found  out  that  she  had  a  fellow  run- 
ning after  her  before  I  married  her,  and  I  have 
pretty  good  reason  to  think  that  he  runs  after  her 
some  now.  She  goes  out  at  night,  and  sometimes 
don't  get  back  until  past  midnight.  When  I  ask 
her  where  she  has  been,  she  says  she  has  been 
visiting  some  friends.  Now,  I'd  like  to  know  where 
these  friends  are. " 

"  Why  don't  you  follow  her  and  find  out,"  I  cut 
in,  shortly. 


12        THE  GREAT  CRONIN  MYSTERY 

His  face  fell. 

"  I've  tried  to  several  times,  but  she  always  man- 
ages to  give  me  the  slip;  I  heard  about  you,  and 
so  I  came  to  see  if  you  wouldn't  take  hold  of  this 
job." 

A  fool  as  well  as  a  scoundrel,  I  put  the  fellow 
down  to  be. 

I  hesitated  about  taking  hold  of  the  case.  In 
my  heart  I  did  not  blame  the  woman  for  seeking 
a  more  agreeable  companion  than  the  fellow,  but 
detectives  must  not  have  hearts,  and  men  of  busi- 
ness must  not  throw  any  of  it  away  from  them.  I 
was  working  for  money.  This  man's  money  was 
just  as  good  as  that  of  any  one  else,  so  I  said,  in  a 
tone  far  from  being  pleasant  or  even  courteous: 
"  How  much  is  there  in  it?  " 

"  How  much  am  I  willing  to  pay?  "  he  asked. 

"Yes." 

"  How  much  do  you  want?  " 

"Ten  dollars  per  day  —  that  is,  from  10  a.m. 
until  10  p.  m. "  I  thought  this  would  sicken  him. 
It  did.  His  face  fairly  turned  white. 

"  Pretty  high,"  he  commented. 

"  The  work  is  not  pleasant,"  I  replied. 

He  brightened. 

"  She  never  goes  out  in  the  day-time.  I  only 
want  her  watched  at  night,"  he  said. 

I  looked  him  in  the  face  impatiently. 

"  What  do  you  propose  to  do  with  your  knowl- 
edge, even  if  I  succeed  in  furnishing  you  vath 
any?  "  I  said. 

"  I  have  not  made  up  my  mind,"  he  replied,  in 


A   CIRCUMSTANCE   UNPUBLISHED  13 

a  tone  that  implied  that  he  had  not  thought  that 
far  ahead. 

"  Then,  you  merely  have  suspicions  that  you  wish 
verified?  "  I  inquired. 

"Yes;  that's  about  it." 

"  Very  well;  I'll  '  shadow'  your  wife  until  I  find 
out,  beyond  doubt,  that  she  is  false  to  you.  You  will 
pay  me  five  dollars  for  each  evening  that  I  work, 
providing  I  am  not  compelled  to  be  out  past  mid- 
night. For  every  hour  past  that  time,  you  will 
pay  me  an  extra  dollar,  and,  when  I  furnish  you 
with  positive  information,  you  are  to  pay  me  fifty 
dollars.  Is  that  satisfactory? "  He  hesitated  a 
moment,  and  then  said  my  terms  were  satisfactory. 
I  smiled  grimly.  Like  many  other  people,  who 
ever  look  for  the  best  of  it,  he  had  accepted  terms 
which  were  far  more  expensive  than  my  first  offer. 
It  would  cost  him  considerably  more  than  ten 
dollars  per  day,  or  I  was  greatly  mistaken. 

"Very  well,  then,"  I  said;  "when  shall  I  be- 
gin?" 

"  To  night,"  he  said,  quietly,  "  I  know  she  is 
going  out  to-night.  You  can  be  watching  for  her 
outside  my  house." 

I  inquired  as  to  the  location  of  her  residence; 
found  it  was  upon  Division  street,  and  then,  after 
promising  him  that  I  would  be  on  hand  at  6:45,  got 
rid  of  him.  I  breathed  a  sigh  of  intense  relief  when 
he  was  gone. 

I  have  a  feeling  of  contempt  for  some  people, 
particularly  such  people  as  this  fellow  who  had  just 
left  me. 


14        THE  GREAT  CRONIN  MYSTERY 

But  a  glance  at  my  recorder  of  passing  time 
warned  me  that  I  had  no  time  to  lose.  I  hurried 
from  my  office,  locked  my  door  securely,  and  made 
my  way  homeward. 

My  wife  had  been  shopping  during  the  day,  and 
had  a  long  story  to  tell  me  about  an  astonishing  bar- 
gain she  had  seen  at  "  The  Fair,"  and  the  surpris- 
ing low  price  of  silk  at  the  "  Boston  Store,"  etc., 
etc. 

I  cut  her  short.  I  had  heard  this  same  old  story 
so  often  before  that  it  had  grown  monotonous  to 
me. 

"  Buy  what  you  please,"  I  said,  removing  my 
coat.  "  I  will  supply  the  money;  only  don't  tell 
me  about  it.  What  pleases  you,  pleases  me.  You 
know  that." 

"  I  thought  you  would  like  to  hear  about  where 
I  have  been,"  she  murmured,  in  a  slightly  disap- 
pointed tone. 

"  I  do,  dear,"  I  replied.  "  But  I  am  in  a  hurry 
to-night,"  and  I  kissed  her. 

A  few  kisses  go  a  great  ways  with  a  woman,  par- 
ticularly if  the  woman  is  your  wife,  and  is  inclined 
to  think  anything  of  you  at  all.  There  are  plenty 
of  women  who  love  their  husbands.  My  wife 
hustled  about,  and  soon  had  supper  ready.  I  ate 
it,  with  my  two  little  ones  on  either  side.  I  can 
enjoy  my  meals  much  more  when  surrounded  by 
my  little  family. 

Supper  being  over,  I  dressed  myself  in  plain  dark 
clothing,  pulled  on  a  slouch  hat,  and,  after  kissing 
my  wife  and  babies,  left  the  house. 


A   CIRCUMSTANCE   UNPUBLISHED  15 

I  reside  on  the  West  Side.  The  Madison  street 
cars  run  within  a  short  distance  of  my  house.  I 
boarded  one,  and  was  soon  creeping  along  toward 
Clark  street.  I  shall  be  thankful  when  the  West 
Side  cable  gets  into  working  order.  The  horse- 
car  system  is  certainly  rather  trying  to  the  nerves 
of  a  man  who  is  in  a  hurry.  I  arrived  at  the  corner 
of  Clark  and  Division  streets  at  precisely  6:45.  In 
five  minutes  I  was  standing  before  the  residence  of 


Dr.  Cronin's  Office  in  Windsor  Theater. 


my  patron,  if  I  can  apply  that  title  to  the  man  who 
called  upon  me  in  the  afternoon.  He  was  waiting 
for  me,  and  seemed  delighted  to  see  me. 

"  You  are  just  in  time,"  he  whispered.  "  She  is 
putting  on  her  cloak  and  hat  up-stairs.  Step  aside, 
and  I  will  show  her  to  you  as  she  passes  by. " 

He  led  me  to  an  alley  not  far  from  his  residence. 
We  had  no  sooner  concealed  ourselves  than  a  neatly 
draped  woman  passed. 


1 6       THE  GREAT  CRONIN  MYSTERY 

"  That  is  my  wife,"  whispered  the  fellow. 

In  a  second  I  was  out  upon  the  street,  following 
closely  behind  her.  She  did  not  seem  to  notice 
me.  In  fact,  she  seemed  oblivious  to  the  fact  that 
there  was  any  one  upon  the  street  at  all,  for  she 
walked  rapidly  along  in  the  direction  of  Clark 
street,  looking  neither  to  the  right  nor  left.  Reach- 
ing Clark  street,  she  turned  to  the  left  and  walked 
in  the  direction  of  Lincoln  Park.  As  she  passed 
the  Windsor  Theater  building,  I  observed  a  horse 
attached  to  a  light  buggy,  not  remarkable  for  beauty 
or  convenience,  driven  up  in  front  of  the  building. 
There  was  nothing  remarkable  about  the  horse  or 
buggy  excepting  the  fact  that  the  horse  was  white, 
and  I  suppose  it  was  that  circumstance  that  attracted 
my  attention.  My  wife  has  hair  which  is  termed 
"  red "  by  the  vulgar;  "  auburn  "  by  those  who 
make  these  things  a  study,  and  there  has  been  much 
sport  between  us  on  this  subject.  Whenever  we  go 
out  together,  it  seems  as  if  the  white  horses  spring 
up  as  if  by  magic.  The  street-cars  have  them  at- 
tached, every  wagon  or  dray  we  pass  seems  to  have 
the  inevitable  white  horse.  So,  as  I  saw  the  buggy 
drive  up,  a  smile  came  to  my  lips,  and  I  muttered  to 
myself: 

"  Mary  ought  to  be  here." 

Mary  is  my  wife. 

I  followed  my  lady  along  Clark  street  until  she 
reached  Center  street.  Then  she  turned  toward 
Lincoln  avenue.  It  is  hardly  necessary  to  relate 
the  long  chase  she  led  me;  suffice  it  to  say,  I  dis- 
covered enough  to  assure  me  that  the  husband  had 


A   CIRCUMSTANCE   UNPUBLISHED  I/ 

ample  cause  to  suspect  his  wife.  She  was,  beyond 
peradventure,  visiting  another,  and,  I  must  say, 
far  more  attractive  man.  I  followed  her  home, 
and  then  returned  to  my  own  humble  domicile. 

The  clock  was  striking  eleven  when  I  turned  in, 
rather  tired,  for  I  had  walked  a  long  distance. 

I  awoke  much  refreshed  in  the  morning.  I 
seldom  go  out  of  the  house  on  Sunday.  Six  days 
a  week  is  enough  for  any  ordinary  man  to  work, 
and  I  believe  I  mentioned  once  before  that  I  am 
only  an  ordinary  man.  Nothing  occurred  to  cause 
me  to  break  in  upon  my  rule  this  particular  day. 
Sunday,  May  5th,  I  put  in  the  day  in  the  society 
of  my  wife. 

The  following  morning  I  was  eating  my  break- 
fast, when,  in  looking  over  the  Herald,  I  ob- 
served a  headline  which  riveted  my  attention.  It 
was  this  : 

"  IS   P.    H.  CRONIN  ALIVE?  " 

A  startling  question  truly.  I  glanced  over  the 
article  hastily,  and  found  that  Dr.  Patrick  H. 
Cronin  had  been  called  out  to  visit  a  patient  at 
about  seven  o'clock  on  Saturday  evening,  and  had 
not  returned  to  his  residence  up  to  that  time. 

I  mentioned  the  fact  to  my  wife. 

"  Perhaps  the  patient  required  his  presence,"  she 
said. 

"  He  would  surely  have  sent  word  home  to  that 
effect,"  I  replied. 

"  Men  don't  always  stop  to  think,  "  she  retorted, 
pouring  out  the  coffee. 

Cronin  Mystery  a 


1 8       THE  GREAT  CRONIN  MYSTERY 

I  agreed  with  her. 

Men  don't  always  stop  to  think!  Some  of  the 
gentle  sex  are  like  the  men,  in  that  respect. 

I  finished  my  breakfast,  stuck  the  paper  in  my 
overcoat  pocket,  and  started  down  town. 

I  reached  my  office,  and  sat  down  to  thoroughly 
peruse  what  each  of  the  city  papers  had  to  say 
regarding  the  mysterious  disappearance  of  the 
missing  doctor. 

I  read  them  all;  and  the  more  I  read,  the  more 
deeply  interested  I  became. 

Here  was  mystery — •  a  chance  for  a  man  to  win 
fame  and  fortune. 

I  threw  the  papers  from  me,  and  rose  to  my  feet. 
I  had  resolved  upon  one  thing.  I  would  investi- 
gate this  mysterious  affair,  and,  if  possible,  find  Dr. 
Cronin,  living  or  dead. 

I  wrote  a  note  to  my  caller  of  Saturday,  in- 
forming him  of  my  discoveries  on  the  night  of  the 
4th,  and  instructing  him  to  engage  another  detect- 
ive if  he  wished  further  light  thrown  upon  his 
wife's  actions. 

Then  I  went  out  upon  the  street  to  begin  my  in- 
vestigation, and  this  is  what  I  discovered: 


THE  DOCTOR'S  LAST  CALL  19 

CHAPTER  II. 
THE  DOCTOR'S  LAST  CALL. 

AT  about  7: 1 5  on  the  night  of  May  4th,  Dr.  P.  H. 
Cronin  was  busily  engaged  with  a  number  of 
patients  at  his  office  and  residence,  470  North 
Clark  street.  The  doctor  was  a  well-known  and 
skillful  physician,  and  celebrated  from  the  fact  that 
he  had  ever  been  a  leading  mover  in  the  many 
Irish  Nationalist  societies,  and  was  leader  of  one 
of  the  Chicago  factions  of  one  of  the  principal  of 
these  organizations,  working  for  the  good  and 
welfare  of  the  "  little  isle  so  green." 

Although  an  American  citizen,  he  was  born  in 
Ireland,  coming  to  this  country  when  but  a  boy, 
and  the  love  which  many  true  Irishmen  have  for 
their  native  land  filled  the  heart  of  the  prominent 
physician,  and  many  were  the  deeds  of  kindness 
and  patriotism  performed  by  him  for  his  country's 
sake.  His  office  was  well  filled  with  patients  this 
particular  night,  and  he  was  attending  to  them  as 
quickly  as  possible,  wishing  to  dispose  of  them,  as 
he  had  an  appointment  to  keep  this  same  night — an 
appointment  with  the  stockholders  of  the  Celtic 
American,  an  Irish-American  newspaper,  which  he 
founded  and  published. 

As  he  was  engaged  in  consultation  with  one  of 
his  patients,  a  loud  rap  sounded  through  the  house, 
a  rap  that  caused  the  waiting  patents  to  look  from 
one  to  the  other  in  amazement,  and  brought  the 


2O  THE  GREAT  CRONIN  MYSTETY 

wife  of  Mr.  T.  T.  Conklin,  with  whom  the  doctor 
boarded,  to  the  door.  A  man  stood  in  the  hall. 

"  What  do  you  want  ?  "  demanded  the  lady, 
sharply. 

"  Dr.  Cronin,"  was  the  brief  reply. 

The  lady  hesitated. 

"  I  don't  think  you  can  see  him,"  she  said, 
shortly.  "  He  is  very  busy  attending  to  his  pa- 
tients." 


Mr.  and  Mrs.  Conklin. 

The  man  (a  young  fellow,  whose  breathless  ap- 
pearance indicated  severe  exertion  but  a  short  time 
before)  seemed  much  put  out. 

"  I  must  see  him,"  he  cried,  excitedly;  "  it  is  im- 
portant. " 

"  You  will  have  to  wait,  then,"  replied  Mrs. 
Conklin. 

The  man  muttered  an  oath  under  his  breath. 

"  I  can't  wait,"  he  said.  "  A  man  has  been 
nearly  killed,  and  the  doctor  must  come." 

"  Oh,  if  that  is  the  case,  I'll  inform  the  doctor," 
cried  Mrs.  Conklin;  and  in  a  few  moments  the 
doctor  made  his  appearance. 


Dr.  Crouin's  office  in  Chicago  Opera  House  Building. 


Dr.  Cronin's  reception  room  in  Chicago  Opera  House  Building. 


THE  DOCTOR'S  LAST  CALL  21 

"  What  is  it?  "  he  demanded,  fixing  a  sharp  look 
upon  the  fellow. 

.  "  A  man  has  been  nearly  killed  at  Sullivan's  ice 
house,  in  Lake  View,"  answered  the  anxious  man; 
"  and,  if  some  medical  assistance  does  not  reach 
him  soon,  he'll  die.  He  is  at  Sullivan's  house,  at 
224  Lincoln  avenue.  Sullivan  is  not  at  home  him- 
self, but  he  has  spoken  so  often  of  you  that  I 
thought  I  had  better  call  you  in  the  case." 

"  All  right,"  said  the  doctor;  "  I'll  go  with  you." 

He  went  to  his  own  room,  secured  his  case  of 
medical  instruments,  and  a  large  bunch  of  absorb- 
ent cotton,  such  as  surgeons  use,  lint  and  bandages, 
and  left  the  office  with  the  young  man. 

In  front  of  the  door  stood  a  white  horse 
attached  to  a  top  buggy.  The  stranger  got  in  first, 
and  then  held  out  his  hands  for  the  case  of  instru- 
ments and  the  bundle  of  cotton. 

The  doctor  was  about  to  follow,  when  Frank  T. 
Scanlan,  of  34  Bellevue  place,  came  along,  and  asked 
the  doctor  if  he  was  going  to  be  present  at  the 
meeting  of  the  stockholders  of  the  Celtic-American 
Publishing  Company.  The  doctor  exclaimed:  "Ah, 
Frank,  I  am  glad  you  came  along,  as  I  don't  know 
when  I  can  get  off.  Here  are  my  keys  to  the  office. 
You  can  open  it  for  the  meeting.  Tell  the  Catholic 
Foresters  that  I  can't  be  there  either.  I  am  called 
to  attend  a  man  who  is  badly  hurt,  up  at  Sullivan's 
ice  house." 

"  When  will  you  be  back?  "  inquired  Scanlan. 

"  The  Lord  only  knows,"  replied  the  doctor. 
So  saying,  he  sprang  into  the  buggy  beside  the  im- 


22 

patient  stranger,  who  was  muttering  and  complain 
ing  at  the  delay. 

The  whip  was  applied  to  the  horse,  and  the  buggy 
sped  along,  going  north  on  Clark  street,  and  was 
soon  out  of  sight.  The  night  passed,  and  the  dawn 
of  the  Sabbath  day  came.  The  doctor  was  still 
absent.  The  day  passed  without  bringing  either 
the  missing  man  or  news  of  his  whereabouts.  Mr. 
T.  T.  Conklin,  with  whom  the  doctor  had  boarded 
for  nearly  ten  years,  grew  alarmed,  also  his  wife. 
It  was  a  well-known  fact  that  the  doctor  was  not  a 
drinking  man,  and  was  usually  very  punctual  in  his 
habits.  His  continued  absence  alarmed  the  Conk- 
lins,  and  so  the  police  were  notified.  In  the  inter- 
view which  I  had  with  Mr.  Conklin,  I  ascertained 
but  little.  I  asked  the  question: 

"  What  sort  of  a  looking  man  called  for  him?  " 

"  He  was  a  man  of  about  medium  size,  rather 
stout,  with  straight  black  hair  and  mustache." 

"  How  was  he  dressed?  " 

"  My  wife,  who  saw  him,  did  not  note  his  dress. 
I  believe,  however,  she  saw  a  slouch  hat  in  his 
hand." 

"  Did  she  notice  what  kind  of  a  horse  he  drove?  " 

"  Yes;  it  was  a  white  horse,  and  the  harness  was 
a  bright  one.  The  buggy  was  covered." 

I  left  the  house. 

I  had  not  collected  my  thoughts  as  yet.  There 
was  not  much  to  work  upon,  but  I  rapidly  ran  over 
what  I  had  found  out,  and  outlined  apian  of  action. 
I  determined  first  of  all  to  visit  Mr.  P.  O.  Sullivan, 
the  iceman,  and  ascertain  how  seriously  the  man 


Dr.  Cronin  leaving  his  home  on  the  eventful  night  of  May  4th, 
with  the  unknown,  in  Dinan's  buggy. 


THE  DOCTOR'S  LAST  CALL  23 

was  injured  for  whose  sake  the  doctor  had  been 
called  in.  I  also  meant  to  search  the  city  for  the 
horse  and  buggy,  which  I  firmly  believed  to  be  the 
same  I  had  seen  upon  the  night  of  May  4th  while 
"  shadowing  "  the  faithless  spouse  of  my  four 
o'clock  visitor  of  the  afternoon. 

One  thing  more  I  had  heard,  but  was  not  posi- 
tive of  the  truth  of  the  report,  that  a  blood-smeared 


Ice  Dealer  Sullivan's  Residence. 

trunk  had  been  found  in  Lake  View  by  two  officers 
of  the  force  of  that  place. 

"  I  will  look  into  that  also,"  I  muttered,  as  I 
turned  my  feet  into  the  direction  of  Lake  View. 

"  It  may  have  something  to  do  with  the  case,  and 
I  need  all  the  information  I  can  get." 

I  went  to  a  livery  stable,  hired  ahorse  and  buggy, 
and  drove  to  Lake  View. 


24  THE   GREAT   CRONIN   MYSTERY 

I  found  Mr.  P.  O.  Sullivan  at  his  ice  house,  at 
the  corner  of  Seminary  avenue  and  Belmont  street, 
Lake  View. 

"  Has  Dr.  Cronin  been  here?  "  I  inquired. 

"  No,"  he  replied. 

I  stated  the  circumstances  of  the  doctor's  depart- 
ure from  home,  and  asked  him  if  he  could  explain 
matters  in  any  way. 

He  replied  that  he  could  not,  and  stated  that 
he  did  not  know  who  the  stranger  could  have 
been. 

"  Was  there  any  accident  in  your,  ice  house,"  I 
asked/ 

"  No,  sir,"  he  replied,  firmly.  "  I  have  but  four 
men  in  my  employ  here,  and  none  of  them  were 
injured." 

"  Then,  you  did  not  call  on  Dr.  Cronin  or  send 
for  him?  " 

"  No,  sir.  The  man  who  did  call,  used  my 
name  without  authority." 

"  Did  you  know  Dr.  Cronin?  " 

"  Yes;  I  met  him  several  times,  and  we  were 
quite  friendly." 

"  Then,  you  do  not  know  how  it  happened  that 
he  was  summoned  to  your  ice  house?  " 

"  I  do  not;  I  cannot  understand  what  were  the 
motives  of  the  man  who  called  for  him." 

This  was  all  Mr.  Sullivan  knew  of  the  mystery. 
Not  much  surely.  Mr.  Conklin  interviewed  him 
also,  but  made  no  better  progress  than  I  had. 

I  hurried  to  the  police  station.  Captain  Villiers, 
Chief  of  the  Lake  View  Police,  had  nearly  all  his 


THE  DOCTOR'S  LAST  CALL  25 

men  at  work  upon  the  case,  and  they  were  moving 
heaven  and  earth  to  find  some  trace  of  the  missing 
man.  Comparatively  little  had  been  found  out. 
One  of  the  force,  a  man  by  the  name  of  Broderick, 
furnished  a  scrap  of  information.  He  said  that 
about  twelve  o'clock  Saturday  night,  he  saw  a  cov- 
ered buggy  drawn  by  a  light  horse  going  north  on 
Seminary  avenue,  near  Belmont  street.  "  I  did  not 
pay  much  attention  to  the  rig,"  he  said,  "  for  I 
had  every  reason  to  believe  it  was  all  right.  There 
were  two  men  in  the  buggy,  a  small  man  and  a 
large  one.  The  large  one  wore  a  heavy  mustache. " 
Dr.  Cronin  is  a  large  man,  and  wears  a  heavy 
mustache.  "  There  might  be  something  in  this,"  I 
thought. 

"  Did  you  notice  whether  the  larger  man  had  a 
case  or  box  with  him?  "  was  asked  Broderick. 

"  I  did  not." 

"  Did  you  notice  how  the  small  man  was 
dressed?  " 

"No." 

"  Were  the  pair  talking?  " 

"  Apparently  not.  The  large  man  was  reclining 
in  the  buggy  ;  the  other  was  driving. " 

"  When  did  the  rig  go?  " 

"  Well,  I  can't  say  exactly  when  it  went  north, 
but  I  saw  it  a  little  while  afterward,  coming  south 
at  a  pretty  lively  clip." 

"  How  many  men  were  in  it  when  you  saw  it  the 
second  time?  " 

"  I  think  only  one." 

"  The  big  man,  or  the  little  one?  " 


26       THE  GREAT  CRONIN  MYSTERY 

"The  little  one." 

"  Didn't  it  strike  you  as  queer  that  he  should  be 
returning  alone?  " 

"  Rather;  but  so  [many  rigs  pass  up  and  down 
during  the  night  that  I  don't  pay  much  attention 
to  them." 

I  left  the  station  house.  There  might  be  some- 
thing in  this,  or  nothing.  The  resemblance  be- 
tween the  rigs  was,  of  course,  a  peculiar  circum- 
.stance,  and  the  fact  of  there  being  two  men  in  the 
buggy  when  first  seen,  and  only  one  the  second 
time,  furnished  at  least  a  clue  worth  following  out. 

I  pursued  my  investigations  still  further,  but 
found  but  little  new  excepting  one  singular  fact, 
and  that  was,  that  the  iceman,  Mr.  P.  O.  Sullivan, 
had,  about  ten  days  before  the  mysterious  disap- 
pearance of  the  doctor,  tried  to  make  a  contract 
with  Dr.  Cronin  to  attend  his  four  men  at  any 
time.  He  had  stated  that  they  were  continually 
exposed  to  danger,  and  that  a  doctor's  services 
were  continually  in  demand.  Mr.  Sullivan  had 
not  stated  these  facts  to  me  during  our  interview. 
Probably  he  had  forgotten  it.  I  could  not  come 
to  any  satisfactory  conclusion  about  the  matter. 

The  finding  of  the  bloody  trunk  I  ascertained  to 
be  true.  I  inquired  into  it.  and  this  is  what  I 
learned : 


THE   BLOODY   TRUNK  27 

CHAPTER  III.       • 

THE   BLOODY   TRUNK. 

OFFICERS  Smith  and  Hayden,  of  the  Lake  View 
police,  were  at  Clark  and  Diversey  streets  at  two 
o'clock  Sunday  morning,  May  5th,  when  they  saw 
a  carpenter's  wagon  drawn  by  a  bay  horse,  rum- 
bling at  a  furious  rate  toward  the  north.  The 
officers  of  Lake  View  are  under'instructions  to  hail 
passing  vehicles  and  prowlers  after  midnight.  Officer 
Smith  stepped  out  upon  the  pavement  to  look  at 
the  two  men  who  sat  upon  the  driver's  seat.  The 
wagon  was  driven  at  such  speed,  however,  that  the 
officer  did  not  have  time  to  look  into  the  faces  of 
the  two  mysterious  men  or  command  them  to  stop. 
There  was  a  large  trunk  in  the  wagon.  Both  of- 
ficers saw  this  receptacle.  When  the  wagon  had 
disappeared,  Officer  Smith  became  suspicious  of 
the  two  drivers,  and  told  Officer  Hayden  so.  The 
two  policemen  patrolled  their  beats  until  about 
3:30  o'clock,  when  they  again  met  at  Clark  and 
Diversey  streets.  They  had  been  there  but  a  few 
moments  when  they  heard  a  vehicle  rumbling  over 
the  pavement.  It  proved  to  be  the  same  old  car- 
penter's wagon  with  its  mysterious  occupants,  and 
its  old  bay  horse.  But  there  was  no  trunk  in  the 
wagon  this  time. 

Officer  Hayden  again  walked  out  upon  the 
pavement  to  look  at  the  men  in  the  driver's  seat. 
One  of  the  men  wore  a  black  derby  hat.  His  com- 
panion wore  a  soft  hat.  Both  were  young  and 


28 


THE   GREAT   CRONIN   MYSTERY 


muscular.  There  was  no  name  on  the  wagon. 
Officer  Hayden  saw  all  this,  but  he  could  not  get  a 
good  view  of  the  men  on  the  seat.  He  did  not  hail 
them,  because  he  thought  the  movement  of  a  trunk 
at  this  time  of  year  was  not  extraordinary.  The 
wagon  rolled  back  toward  Chicago,  and  Officer  Hay- 


The  Wagon  Route. 

den  dismissed  the  incident  from  his  mind.  Officer 
Smith,  however,  was  greatly  disturbed,  and  told 
his  companion  so  several  times  during  the  early 
morning  hours.  Alderman  Chapman,  of  Lake 
View,  was  driving  along  Evanston  avenue,  between 
Graceland  and  the  German  Catholic  Cemeteries,  at 
7:30  o'clock  the  same  morning,  and,  when  he 


Position  and  locality  of  the  bloodv  trunk. 


THE   BLOODY  TRUNK  29 

reached  a  point  five  hundred  yards  from  Sultzer 
street,  he  saw  three  men  standing  around  a  trunk 
which  stood  back  of  a  bush  with  one  end  thrust 
into  the  ditch  which  runs  near  the  thoroughfare. 
Alderman  Chapman  alighted  and  went  to  the  spot. 
The  cover  of  the  trunk  had  been  forced  open.  The 
interior  of  the  trunk  was  bespattered  with  blood,  and 
partially  filled  with  absorbent  cotton,  which  was 
saturated  with  gore.  Alderman  Chapman  drove 
hurriedly  to  the  Lake  View  Police  Station,  and  gave 
the  alarm.  Captain  Villiers  and  a  detachment  of 
officers  leaped  into  the  patrol  wagon  and  made  a 
furious  run  to  the  lonely  spot  where  the  trunk 
stood.  When  they  got  there  they  found  a  large 
crowd  of  gaping  men  and  boys  who  had  trampled 
the  grass  in  every  direction.  The  trunk  was  taken 
to  the  station-house. 

The  first  thing  Captain  Villiers  did  after  he  cleared 
his  private  room  of  the  curiosity  seekers  who  had 
swarmed  into  the  station-house  was  to  make  a  care- 
ful investigation  of  the  trunk.  He  found  enough 
evidence  to  satisfy  him  that  a  grown  person  had 
been  murdered, thrust  into  the  trunk,  and  then  carted 
to  the  spot  between  the  two  cemeteries.  The  trunk 
was  new  and  large.  A  man  six  feet  tall  could  be 
cramped  into  it.  A  trunk  dealer  who  was  sum- 
moned to  the  station-house  by  Captain  Villiers  says 
that  it  was  made  either  in  Racine  or  Milwaukee. 
It  was  of  cheap  pattern,  and  was  evidently  purchased 
for  the  purpose  for  which  it  was  used.  The  trunk 
had  been  locked  after  the  body  had  been  placed  in 
it,  and  the  cotton  had  been  packed  about  the  wounds 


30  THE  GREAT   CRONIN   MYSTERY 

in  order  to  stancntne  flow  of  blood,  and  thus  insure 
greater  safety  in  its  transmission  from  place  to 
place.  Before  the  body  was  removed  the  lock  of 
the  trunk  had  been  broken  by  two  sharp  blows  with 
a  blunt  instrument.  The  marks  of  these  blows 
were  on  both  sides  of  the  lock.  In  their  haste  to 
remove  the  body  the  murderers  had  thrown  the 
cover  back  with  such  force  that  one  of  the  sheet- 
iron  hinges  was  broken.  Captain  Villiers  picked 
the  cotton  out,  and  placed  it  upon  his  table.  Cap- 
tain Villiers  used  to  be  a  doctor,  and  his  examina- 
tion of  the  cotton  leads  him  to  believe  that  the 
murder  must  have  been  committed  some  time  after 
midnight. 

Some  of  the  absorbent  material  was  still  soft  with 
blood,  and  there  was  a  pool  of  fresh  blood  in  one 
corner  of  the  trunk.  Careful  examination  of  the 
cotton  revealed  other  things  to  the  officer.  He 
found  a  lock  of  dark  brown  hair,  which  was  almost 
as  fine  as  a  woman's,  but  not  so  glossy.  This  was 
the  only  possible  tangible  clue  as  to  the  identity  of 
the  victim.  The  lock  of  hair  was  placed  under  a 
microscope.  It  was  found  to  be  filled  with  blood 
and  particles  of  cotton.  The  lock  looked  as  though 
it  had  been  chopped  off  with  a  blunt  instrument. 
It  had  not  been  pulled  out  of  the  scalp,  but  the  hairs 
were  all  of  uneven  length,  and  looked  as  though 
they  might  have  come  off  the  cranium  near  the 
forehead.  The  inside  of  the  cover  was  bespattered 
with  blood.  Some  of  the  life  fluid  had  trickled 
down  the  exterior  of  the  trunk,  presumably  when 
the  body  was  dragged  out  upon  the  ground.  There 


THE   BLOODY   TRUNK  31 

were  no  marks  on  the  trunk,  and,  aside  from  the 
lock  of  hair,  there  is  absolutely  nothing  left  for  the 
officers  to  hold  for  identification. 

Captain  Villiers  was  quickly  satisfied  that  a  dia- 
bolical murder  had  been  committed,  and  at  once 
issued  orders  to  his  subordinates  to  begin  a  thor- 
ough search  for  the  body,  which  he  believed  to  be 
lying  in  the  neighborhood  of  the  spot  where  the 
trunk  was  found.  A  patrol  wagon,  filled  with  offi- 
cers, was  out  the  entire  afternoon.  The  men 
searched  all  the  brush,  prairie  and  vacant  houses 
for  miles  around,  but  could  find  no  trace  of  the 
corpse.  So  many  persons  had  trampled  the  grass 
at  the  spot  where  the  trunk  was  found  that  the 
officers  could  not  discover  tracks  of  any  vehicle. 
Evanston  avenue  is  so  well  paved  that  search  along 
this  much-traveled  highway  would  be  useless.  The 
officers  scoured  the  grass,  examined  the  fences, 
and  went  even  so  far  as  to  invade  the  cemeteries. 
Not  a  drop  of  blood  nor  a  particle  of  cotton  could 
be  found  anywhere.  Three  boards  of  a  fence  were 
down  at  Argyle  street,  but  there  was  no  evidence 
that  they  had  been  removed  for  the  purpose  of  as- 
sisting men  in  the  removal  of  a  body.  Captain 
Villiers  does  not  know  who  first  discovered  the 
trunk.  One  man  whom  he  saw  says  the  trunk  was 
not  along  the  Evanston  road  at  six  o'clock.  Ald- 
erman Chapman  was  the  first  one  to  give  the  alarm, 
but  he  declares  there  were  men  at  the  spot  an  hour 
before  he  came  along  in  his  buggy. 

It  was  six  o'clock  Sunday  evening  when  Officers 
Smith  and  Hayden  came  into  the  station  to  report 


32  THE   GREAT  CRONIN  MYSTERY 

for  their  night  work.  The  instant  Smith  entered 
the  captain's  private  room  he  declared  that  the 
bloody  trunk  lying  before  him  was  the  one  he  had 
seen  in  the  mysterious  carpenter's  wagon  when  he 
stood  with  Officer  Hayden  at  Clark  and  Diversey 
streets  early  in  the  morning.  Officer  Hayden  was 
equally  positive  in  his  identification  of  the  trunk. 
Captain  Villiers,  the  instant  the  officers  told  their 
stories,  became  intensely  excited.  The  report  that 
Dr.  Cronin  was  missing  under  the  most  alarming 
circumstances,  and  the  gory  evidence  of  a  murder 
lying  before  him,  seemed  to  inspire  the  captain  with 
the  belief  that  perhaps  the  mystery  surrounding 
the  well-known  doctor's  disappearance  had  been 
solved.  He  at  once  issued  orders  for  a  search  for 
the  mysterious  wagon  and  its  equally  mysterious 
occupants.  Captain  Villiers  believed  that  the  vic- 
tim received  but  one  wound,  and  that  that  had  been 
inflicted  at  the  base  of  the  brain.  He  arrived  at 
this  opinion  because  of  the  small  amount  of  ab- 
sorbent cotton  used  to  stop  the  flow  of  blood,  and 
the  ragged  bunch  of  hair  found  in  the  trunk.  His 
search  after  the  body  will  be  resumed  in  the  morn- 
ing, when  he  will  drag  the  clay  ponds  at  Perry  and 
Argyle  streets  and  Wrightwood  avenue.  The  cap- 
tain will  also  drag  the  ponds  in  Graceland  Cemetery. 


FURTHER  INVESTIGATION  33 

CHAPTER    IV. 
FURTHER  INVESTIGATION. 

I  HAD  fully  made  up  my  mind  to  one  thing  as  1 
made  my  way  homeward  that  night,  and  that  was, 
that  Dr.  P.  H.  Cronin  had  been  murdered. 

Despite  the  assertion  of  many  to  the  contrary, 
this  idea  had  entered  my  mind,  and  refused  to  be 
dismissed.  I  believed  that  the  doctor  had  been 


I  wonder  if  he  is  in  there?" 

foully  dealt  with,  and  that  the  trunk  had  been  used 
to  convey  his  dead  body  from  the  place  where  he 
had  met  his  death  to  some  place  of  concealment. 
I  had  much  to  do.  I  wished  to  find  the  horse  and 
buggy  used  that  night ;  also  the  driver  of  the  mys- 
terious wagon  which  carried  the  trunk,  but,  above 
all  things,  I  most  desired  to  find  the  body  of  the 
murdered  man. 

Cronin  Mystery  j 


34  THE   GREAT   CRONIN   MYSTERY 

I  slept  but  little  that  night,  revolving  matters  in 
my  mind,  and  arose  with  a  dull  headache.  I  learned, 
through  the  morning  papers,  that  Captain  Villiers, 
of  the  Lake  View  police  force,  had  taken  the  lock 
of  hair  found  in  the  trunk  to  the  barber  where 
Cronin  got  shaved,  Mr.  Buck,  of  474  North  Clark 
street.  The  barber  positively  declared  that  the 
hair  was  not  Cronin's,  being  too  fine  and  too  long. 
He  stated  that  he  had  cut  the  doctor's  hair  but  the 
Thursday  before  his  disappearance,  and  that  the 
hair  found  could  not  possibly  be  that  of  the  missing 
man. 

On  the  other  hand,  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Conklin  were 
almost  as  positive  that  the  hair  surely  came  from 
the  head  of  the  doctor.  Mrs.  Conklin  ridiculed  the 
barber's  statement. 

"  What  does  he  know  about  it?  "  she  said.  "  That 
is  Dr.  Cronin's  hair,  or  exactly  like  it.  The  doc- 
tor's hair  was  very  fine  and  silky.  It  is  his  hair, 
and  I  believe  he  has  been  murdered." 

Both  husband  and  wife  united  in  expressing  their 
firm  belief  that  the  missing  man  had  been  murdered. 
I  agreed  with  them  in  my  mind.  I  believed  that  a 
foul  deed  had  been  done.  Captain  Schaack,  of  the 
Chicago  police,  expressed  his  opinion  that  the  hair 
was  not  that  of  the  doctor.  I  had  my  own  ideas, 
but  kept  them  to  myself.  If  the  hair  was  not  that 
of  the  doctor,  whose  was  it? 

The  blood  which  was  found  in  the  trunk,  being 
examined  by  experts,  was  pronounced  that  of  a 
human  being.  The  hair  was  undoubtedly  so. 
Whose,  then,  could  it  have  been? 


FURTHER   INVESTIGATION 


35 


All  these  facts  passed  in  review  before  my  mind. 

I  determined  to  put  in  the  day  searching  for  the 
body  of  the  man  I  firmly  believed  to  have  been 
murdered,  and  so  engaged  a  horse  and  buggy,  as 
upon  the  preceding  day,  and  started  for  Lake 
View. 

I  did  not  care  to  have  it  generally  known,  even 
to  the  police  force,  that  I  was  interesting  myself  so 
thoroughly  in  the  case.  Being  a  private  detective, 


Detectives  Traversing  the  Lake  View  Sand  Hills. 

and  not  on  the  best  of  terms  with  all  the  members 
of  the  force,  I  thought  it  best  to  keep  my  own 
counsel  regarding  the  matter,  and  so  went  all  alone. 
I  first  drove  to  the  spot  where  the  trunk  had  been 
found,  and  found  a  body  of  Captain  Villiers'  men 
there  before  me.  They  were  thoroughly  examining 
every  available  spot  where  a  body  could  have  pos- 
sibly been  hidden,  and  had  even  gone  so  far  as  to 
search  through  the  cemeteries,  which  were  not  far 


36  THE   GREAT  CRONIN  MYSTERY 

distant.  As  I  have  stated,  the  trunk  was  found  on 
a  vacant  lot,  midway  between  two  cities  of  the 
dead.  The  ground  was  surrounded  by  a  gaping 
crowd.  There  is  a  fascination  about  mysterious 
crime  that  attracts  almost  any  one,  and  men, 
women  and  children  were  crowding  about  the 
place  in  the  way  of  the  searching  officers,  offering 
suggestions,  which  were  of  no  earthly  benefit  or 
value  for  the  greater  part. 

Remaining  a  silent  spectator  for  some  little  time, 
and  seeing  that  I  could  not  prove  of  any  benefit  to 
those  already  there,  I  left  the  spot  and  began  my 
search  in  other  parts  of  the  district.  I  put  in  one 
of  the  hardest  day's  work  I  had  ever  done.  My 
buggy  got  stuck  in  the  mud  and  sand  of  the  un- 
paved  streets,  and,  in  crossing  a  lot,  I  was  obliged 
to  call  upon  a  young  man  for  assistance  to  extricate 
my  buggy,  as  it  had  gone  down  to  the  hubs  of  the 
wheels  in  the  sand. 

After  a  tiresome,  fatiguing  experience,  I  gave 
up  my  search  for  the  day,  and  drove  slowly  home- 
ward, driving  my  hired  team  to  the  livery  stable 
from  where  it  came.  I  went  home  to  supper.  A 
letter  was  awaiting  me.  My  wife  called  my  atten- 
tion to  it  while  I  was  eating.  I  tore  it  open  and 
read  it.  It  was  from  my  visitor  of  Saturday,  and 
read  as  follows: 
«  Mr. . 

"  DEAR  SIR  —  Your  letter,  in  which  you  stated 
your  discoveries  of  Saturday  night,  reached  me  all 
right.  I  don't  want  to  engage  another  detective. 
I  think  you  will  find  it  to  your  advantage  to  follow 


FURTHER   INVESTIGATION  37 

up  this  case  to  the  end.  My  wife  has  been  acting 
very  strangely  since  Saturday  night,  and,  if  you 
will  be  in  your  office  to-morrow  morning  at  nine 
o'clock,  I  will  call  and  see  you,  and  tell  you  all 
about  it.  Yours, 


I  expressed  myself  in  a  contemptuous  manner. 
I  wanted  nothing  to  do  with  this  fellow  in  his 
family  affairs.  I  had  other  fish  to  fry.  I  tried  to 
dismiss  the  matter  from  my  mind,  but  for  some 
reason  the  matter  refused  to  be  dismissed.  It 
still  lingered  even  after  I  had  gone  to  bed.  I  could 
not  sleep.  Finally,  I  resolved  to  be  in  my  office 
the  next  morning  at  the  hour  appointed,  and  hear 
what  the  man  had  to  say.  Strange  to  say,  as  soon 
as  I  came  to  this  conclusion,  sleep  came  to  me  at 
once.  I  was  up  early,  and  was  waiting  in  my 
office  when  the  clock  struck  eight. 

My  man  was  not  punctual.  It  was  fully  fifteen 
minutes  past  the  hour  when  he  shambled  in.  A 
quick  glance  at  his  coarse  features  revealed  to  me 
the  fact  that  he  was  terribly  worried.  He  threw 
himself  heavily  into  an  arm-chair,  without  even 
saying  "  By  your  leave,"  and  remained  perfectly 
silent.  I  waited  for  a  few  minutes  for  him  to  speak, 
and,  seeing  that  he  did  not  make  any  attempt  to  do 
so,  I  said,  testily: 

"  You  want  to  tell  me  something.  If  so,  come, 
speak  out.  Don't  keep  me  waiting,  as  I  have  im- 
portant business  on  hand,  which  I  am  anxious  to 
be  about." 


38       THE  GREAT  CRONIN  MYSTERY 

He  started  nervously  in  his  chair,  and  muttered 
an  apology  for  his  fit  of  absent-mindedness. 

"  I  am  worried,"  he  explained. 

"  What  about?  " 

"  My  wife. " 

I  smiled.  This  coarse-looking  brute  showed  more 
anxiety  about  the  woman  than  I  would  have  thought 
him  capable  of.  But  I  had  no  time  to  throw  away. 

"  Come,  spit  it  out,"  I  cried,  impatiently.  "What 
is  it  you  wish  to  tell  me?  " 

"  You  saw  where  my  wife  went  Saturday  night," 
he  said,  sinking  his  voice  to  a  whisper. 

"  Yes,  I  stated  that  in  my  letter  to  you." 

"  Did  you  follow  her  when  she  left  the  house  the 
second  time?  " 

I  started,  "  The  second  time!  "  I  cried,  amazed. 

"Yes." 

"  No;  I  did  not  know  she  went  out  again  after 
returning  to  her  home." 

"  She  has  fooled  you,"  he  said.  "  She  said  as 
much." 

"  What  do  you  mean,"  I  cried. 

"  This:  When  she  came  into  the  house  the  first 
time,  she  smiled  when  I  asked  her  if  she  had  en- 
joyed her  visit  to  the  friend  she  had  gone  to  see. 
'  I  only  had  a  little  walk,'  she  said.  '  There  was 
a  man  following  me,  and  I  did  not  go  to  my 
friend's.'" 

"  But  I  saw  her  enter  a  house  with  a  man  she 
met  upon  the  street,"  I  exclaimed. 

"  She  did  that  to  throw  you  off  your  guard." 

"  Do  you  think  so?  " 


FURTHER  INVESTIGATION  39 

"  I  know  so.  She  went  out  again  in  an  hour 
after  she  had  returned  from  the  first  trip.  It  was 
nearly  two  o'clock  when  she  got  home." 

I  rose  and  walked  the  floor.  This  woman  was  a 
shrewd  one.  Perhaps  there  was  something  worth 
watching  in  her  action. 

"  She  has  not  been  out  since?  "  I  asked. 

"  No;  she  has  remained  in  the  house;  but  she 
seems  very  nervous;  reads  the  papers,  all  she 
can  get.  You  know  we  don't  live  far  from  the 
office  of  Dr.  Cronin,  and  she  seems  greatly  inter- 
ested in  the  case." 

"  Oh!  she  does,  eh?  "  I  cried. 

"Yes." 

"  Did  you  know  the  doctor?  " 

"  Well;  he  treated  my  wife  at  one  time." 

"  He  was  said  to  be  a  skillful  physician." 

"  I  believe  he  was.  " 

"  You  say  she  reads  all  the  papers?  " 

"  Yes.  She  seems  to  be  expecting  to  find  some- 
thing in  them." 

"  What  makes  you  think  so?  " 

"  Her  actions.  She  picks  up  the  paper,  reads  it 
through,  and  then  puts  it  aside  with  a  sigh  of 
relief." 

This  was  strange  news  indeed.  Why  should 
this  man's  wife  show  so  much  interest  in  this  affair? 
Could  she  possibly  know  anything  about  the  miss- 
ing man?  I  must  own  the  thought  struck  me  as 
being  decidedly  strange. 

"  Can  I  see  your  wife?  "  I  inquired. 


40  THE   GREAT   CRONIN   MYSTERY 

"  Yes,"  he  answered,  not  without  some  hesita- 
tion. 

"  When?  " 

"  Not  until  after  six  o'clock.  She  was  getting 
ready  to  visit  her  aunt,  who  lives  on  Milwaukee 
avenue,  when  I  left  home.  She  will  not  return 
until  six." 

"  I'll  be  there,"  I  said,  making  a  motion  as  if  to 
take  my  seat.  I  wished  to  get  rid  of  him. 

My  feint  had  its  effect.  He  rose  from  his  seat, 
took  his  hat,  and,  making  me  promise  to  be  sure 
and  not  disappoint  him,  he  left  my  office. 

After  he  had  gone,  I  resumed  my  chair,  lighted 
a  cigar,  and  ran  over  in  my  mind  all,  he  had  said. 
It  struck  me  as  being  very  strange  that  this  man, 
the  husband  of  this  woman,  should  display  so 
much  anxiety  to  have  her  detected  in  some  base 
or  criminal  action.  I  believed  that  he  actually 
thought  that  she  knew  something  about  the  Cronin 
affair.  He  had  led  me  on  to  make  an  appointment 
to  see  his  wife,  by  informing  me  of  her  peculiar 
action  regarding  the  newspapers;  and,  when  I  had 
said  I  would  be  there,  he  made  me  promise  not  to 
disappoint  him.  Why  should  it  prove  a  disappoint- 
ment to  him  if  I  failed  to  investigate  his  wife's 
knowledge  of  an  affair  which  was  setting  the  coun- 
try almost  wild  with  its  mystery? 

"  Something  strange  about  this,"  Imuttered;  "  I'll 
watch  you,  my  friend,  a  little,  as  well  as  your  ami- 
able spouse. " 

I  put  in  the  day  in  Lake  View.     I  had  several 


FURTHER   INVESTIGATION  41 

spots  which  I  wished  to  search  a  little  more  thor- 
oughly. I  visited  them,  without  any  more  success 
than  had  attended  my  effort  of  the  preceding  day. 
I  found  Lake  View  fairly  swarming  with  detect- 
ives. They  were  investigating  every  point;  exam- 
ining sewers,  mud-puddles,  etc.  What  fools  men 
are  sometimes.  I  found  two  well-known  officers 
digging  away  at  a  mud-hole  that  would  not  have 
offered  a  chance  of  concealment  for  the  body  of  a 


Detectives  Sounding  a  Mud  Puddle. 

small  dog,  and  yet  they  dug  and  poked  away.  It 
seemed  to  afford  them  satisfaction  that  they  were 
doing  something,  whether  it  resulted  in  anything 
or  not. 

I  drove  to  the  residence  of  my  morning  visitor. 
He  met  me  at  the  door. 

"  She  is  not  home  yet,"  he  said;  "  wait  for  her." 
I  concluded  to  do  so.     I  waited  an  hour.     She 
did  not  come. 


42  THE   GREAT   CRONIN   MYSTERY 

"  Where  does  this  aunt  live?  "  I  asked,  suddenly, 
after  trying  to  curb  my  impatience  for  some  time. 

He  told  me;  the  address  was  on  Milwaukee  ave- 
nue, near  Robey  street. 

"  Suppose  we  drive  over  there,"  I  suggested;  "  I 
have  a  horse  and  buggy. " 

He  jumped  at  the  proposition.  In  a  few  min- 
utes we  were  on  our  way  to  the  house  of  the  aunt. 
Judge  of  my  surprise  when  the  old  lady  informed 
the  husband  that  the  woman  had  left  her  house  at 
eight  o'clock  that  morning. 

"  She  said  she  was  going  out  of  the  city  for  a  few 
days,"  she  added 

The  husband  seemed  thunderstruck. 

"  Out  of  the  city,"  he  muttered.  "  Well,  that 
beats  all." 

I  looked  from  the  man  to  the  woman  suspiciously. 
What  game  was  this? 

"By  G— d!  I'll  find  her!"  suddenly  cried  the 
man,  and,  without  further  comment,  he  ran  toward 
the  buggy.  I  followed  him,  my  brain  busy. 

He  sat  silent  for  ten  minutes;  then  a  bright 
thought  seemed  to  have  occurred  to  him,  for  his 
face  grew  brighter,  and  he  exclaimed,  in  a  jubilant 
tone,  "  I  could  almost  swear  I  know  where  she  is." 

"  You  have  some  idea  as  to  her  whereabouts?" 
I  said  absently. 

"  Yes.  She  has  relations  living  in  Toronto, 
Canada.  She  has  been  talking  for  some  time  about 
going  to  visit  them.  I  wouldn't  be  afraid  to  bet 
my  life  that  she  is  on  her  way  there  now." 

I  made  no  reply;  I  was  thinking  deeply.    All  this 


FURTHER   INVESTIGATION  43 

seemed  decidedly  out  of  the  usual  run  of  things  to 
me.  I  could  not  understand  it. 

"  I'll  know  in  the  morning,"  remarked  the  man. 

"  How  will  you  find  out?  "  I  asked. 

"  I  will  keep  that  to  myself,"  he  said,  compressing 
his  lips.  "  I  have  a  way  of  finding  out;  I  will  be 
at  your  office  to-morrow,  at  the  same  time  I  called 
this  morning.  If  she  has  gone  to  Toronto,  I  shall 
be  able  to  tell  you." 

"  You  need  not  come,"  I  said.  "  I  don't  care  to 
go  any  further  in  this  case." 

"  I  think  you  will  go  on  in  this  case,"  he  said,  in 
a  peculiar  tone. 

"  Why?"  I  demanded,  fretfully. 

"  Because,  I  think  you  would  like  to  ferret  out 
the  mystery  of  Dr.  Cronin,"  he  replied. 

I  turned  upon  him  fiercely. 

"  What  do  you  know  about  this  case?"  I  cried. 

"  Nothing,"  he  said.  "  But  my  wife  knows  more 
than  either  you  or  I  can  possibly  imagine." 

"  If  I  can  prove  that  my  wife  has  gone  to  Toronto, 
will  you  follow  her  to  that  point  and  watch  her, 
find  out  what  she  knows?  " 

"  Who  will  defray  my  expenses?  "  I  inquired, 
cautiously. 

"  I  will,"  he  replied,  quietly.  "  If  I  find  out  she 
has  gone  there,  I  will  bring  with  me  to-morrow 
morning  a  sufficient  sum  of  money  to  defray  your 
expenses  there  and  back,  and  also  pay  your  hotel 
bills." 

"  I  will  go,"  I  said,  in  a  determined  tone. 

"  I  thought  you  would,"  he  said. 


44  THE   GREAT   CRONIN   MYSTERY 

CHAPTER  V. 

CONFLICTING   REPORTS. 

AT  IO:2O  o'clock  the  following  morning  I  was  on 
my  way  to  Toronto,  Canada. 

My  man  had  called  upon  me  promptly  at  the  hour 
appointed,  and  showed  me  positive  proofs  of  the 
fact  that  his  unreliable  wife  was  on  her  way  to  that 
city.  The  proofs  consisted  of  the  written  state- 
ment of  a  certain  city  ticket  broker,  with  whom  I 
was  acquainted  by  sight,  and  who  also  seemed  to 
know  the  man  and  his  wife,  and  a  telegraph  dis- 
patch from  Buffalo,  signed  by  the  ticket  agent  there, 
who  stated  that  she  had  passed  through  that  city 
en  route. 

It  struck  me  as  being  rather  singular  that  these 
men,  both  of  them  connected  with  the  railroad 
service,  should  be  acquainted  with  this  woman. 
I  remarked  it.  My  man  explained  matters: 

"  I  was  formerly  in  the  railroad  business  myself," 
he  said.  "  My  wife  has  traveled  over  the  line  so 
much  that  every  ticket  agent  between  Chicago  and 
Buffalo  is  well  acquainted  with  her.  I  did  not 
intend  to  tell  you  this,  but  I  don't  suppose  it  will 
do  any  harm." 

I  accepted  his  explanation,  and  made  my  prepa- 
rations for  a  trip  to  Canada. 

I  arrived  in  Toronto  safely  early  the  following 
morning,  and  made  my  way  to  the  house  kept  by 
Mr.  Hirsch,  a  Yorkshireman,  at  the  corner  or  inter- 
section of  Jarvis  and  Adelaide  streets.  I  had 


CONFLICTING    REPORTS 


45 


made  the  acquaintance  of  Hirsch  some  years 
before  at  Niagara,  and  he  seemed  overjoyed  to  see 
me.  When  I  made  his  acquaintance,  I  represented 
myself  as  a  commercial  tourist,  and  so  he  thought 
me.  Commercial  men  seldom  stopped  with  him, 
but,  as  we  had  been  boon  companions  during  our 
joint  stay  at  the  falls,  he  thought  it  friendship  that 
brought  me  to  his  house.  It  was  partly,  but 
chiefly,  a  desire  to  be  where  I  would  attract  the 
least  attention.  I  realized  that  the  woman  whom 
I  was  shadowing,  was  no  fool  by  any  means.  If 


The  Mysterious  Wagon. 

she  had  been  shrewd  enough  to  "  spot "  me  upon 
the  occasion  of  my  first  "  shadowing,"  she  might 
probably  discover  that  I  was  on  the  same  "  lay  "  in 
Toronto,  and  consequently  give  me  the  slip.  I 
did  not  want  her  to  know  that  I  was  in  Toronto  at 
all.  I  had  instructed  my  wife  to  forward  me  the 
Chicago  papers.  She  did  so.  By  the  first  mail  I 
received  a  batch  of  them:  Herald,  Times,  Tribune, 
Inter  Ocean,  News.  I  read  them  all.  The  first 
thing  that  met  my  eyes  was  the  announcement 
of  the  arrest  of  Frank  Woodruff,  or  Black,  who 


46       THE  GREAT  CRONIN  MYSTERY 

drove  the  mysterious  wagon  which  carried  the 
trunk. 

"  An  important  arrest,"  I  muttered,  and  felt  sorry 
that  I  was  not  in  Chicago.  I  carefully  read  over 
the  fellow's  statement,  in  which  he  claimed  that  the 
body  which  had  been  in  the  trunk  was  that  of  a  wo- 
man, and  had  been  secreted  in  Lincoln  Park.  It 
struck  me  as  being  rather  strange  that  Woodruff 
and  his  alleged  companions,  King  and  Fairburn, 
should  take  so  much  care  to  conduct  the  affair  se- 
cretly, and  then  leave  the  trunk  where  they  must 
have  known  it  would  be  found  in  a  few  hours  at  the 
most.  They  could  easily  have  broken  the  trunk 
in  pieces  and  burned  it,  but  it  seems  they  either 
did  not  think  of  that,  or  left  it  where  it  was 
found,  intentionally.  Some  of  the  police  claimed 
that  such  was  the  case;  that  the  trunk  was  only  a 
"  blind."  Strange  that  human  blood  should  be 
found  in  the  interior  of  the  "blind."  Probably 
the  officers  did  not  think  of  that.  The  Chicago 
police  sometimes  forget  many  important  things. 
One  thing  corroborated  Woodruff's  statement  that 
the  trunk  contained  a  corpse,  and  that  it  had  been 
disposed  of  in  the  lake,  and  that  was  the  discovery 
of  the  fact  that  a  row-boat  had  been  stolen  on  the 
night  of  May  4th,  from  a  man  who  rents  them  out, 
at  the  bottom  of  Diversey  avenue. 

That  certainly  looked  as  if  the  men  had  taken  the 
corpse  out  upon  the  lake,  but  there  was  no  body 
found  in  the  lake. 

It  was  growing  more  and  more  mysterious.  I 
threw  my  paper  down  and  went  out  upon  the  street. 


CONFLICTING   REPORTS  47 

Strolling  absently  along  Yonge  street,  I  nearly  ran 
into  a  man  who  came  hurriedly  around  the  corner 
of  King  street.  I  stepped  back  to  allow  him  to 
pass;  as  I  did  so,  I  caught  a  glimpse  of  his  face.  I 
had  seen  that  face  before,  but  where?  Most  likely 
in  Chicago.  I  followed  the  man. 

Now,  at  any  other  time,  the  fact  of  a  man  who 
looked  like  some  one  I  had  seen  in  Chicago  pass- 
ing me  would  not  have  caused  any  feeling  of  sus- 
picion in  my  mind  at  all;  but,  under  existing 
circumstances,  any  one  who  came  from  Chicago 
interested  me,  and  so  I  followed  him. 

Somehow  or  other,  he  gave  me  the  slip.  He 
disappeared  somewhere  very  suddenly.  I  hunted 
up  one  street,  down  another,  for  an  hour;  my  man 
could  not  be  found.  I  slowly  walked  toward  my 
hotel;  as  I  turned  the  corner  of  King  street,  who 
should  I  see  standing  near  the  postoffice  but  this 
very  man  I  had  been  looking  for,  and  with  him  a 
woman. 

I  uttered  a  slight  cry  of  surprise.  I  recognized 
the  woman.  //  was  the  same  I  was  shadowing. 

The  fact  of  her  being  engaged  in  earnest  conver- 
sation with  a  man,  whom,  I  now  felt  positive,  I  had 
seen  in  Chicago,  set  me  to  thinking.  I  would  have 
given  a  considerable  sum  of  money  if  I  could  have 
overheard  their  conversation.  But  this  was  impos- 
sible, for  the  next  moment  they  separated,  the  man 
going  one  way,  the  woman  another.  As  I  was  then 
most  interested  in  the  woman,  I  "  shadowed  "  her, 
leaving  the  man  to  go  his  way  in  peace.  The 
woman  walked  directly  west  on  King  street,  and 


48  THE  GREAT  CRONIN  MYSTERY 

entered  the  Rossin  House.  She  ascended  the 
stairs  leading  to  the  upper  floor 

I  approached  the  clerk. 

"  Can  you  tell  me  who  that  lady  is  who  just 
entered?  "  I  asked. 

The  man  looked  at  me  sharply. 

"  Why  do  you  wish  to  know?  "  he  demanded. 

"  I  expect  a  relative  of  my  wife's  here  from  Chi- 
cago," I  replied. 

My  answer  seemed  to  satisfy  him,  for  he  turned 
to  the  register,  and,  after  glancing  over  it,  said: 

"  That  lady  is  not  the  party  you  expect,  then. 
Her  name  is  Brown,  and  she  comes  from  Buffalo." 

I  thanked  him,  and  walked  out  of  the  hotel;  but 
I  did  not  believe  what  he  told  me.  The  woman 
might  have  registered  as  Mrs.  Brown,  of  Buffalo; 
but  she  was  the  woman  I  had  come  from  Chicago 
to  watch,  beyond  any  possibility  of  doubt. 

I  went  to  my  hotel.  I  did  not  consider  it  worth 
while  to  linger  about  the  Rossin  House;  the  woman 
would  scarcely  leave  the  hotel  for  an  hour  or  so. 

In  that  time  I  returned  to  the  Rossin  House.  I 
entered  the  office,  and  approached  the  clerk  once 
more.  "  Do  'you  think  it  possible  for  me  to  see 
Mrs.  Brown?"  I  asked.  I  had  determined  upon 
making  a  bold  move. 

The  clerk's  answer  almost  paralyzed  me. 

"  Mrs.  Brown  left  the  house  about  ten  minutes 
ago;  I  believe  she  is  going  to  return  home." 

"  Left  the  city!  "  I  gasped. 

"Yes,  sir." 

"  What  time  does  the  train  leave?  "   I  cried. 


CONFLICTING   REPORTS.  49 

"  i:40." 

I  looked  at  my  watch;  1:35;  could  I  reach  the 
train  in  five  minutes?  I  made  a  break  for  the  door. 
The  man  must  have  thought  me  crazy,  for  his  eyes 
opened  in  blank  astonishment.  It  made  but  little 
difference  to  me  what  he  thought;  I  must  overtake 
this  woman.  I  jumped  into  a  hansom  cab;  "  Drive 
to  the  depot,"  I  cried. 

The  man  applied  the  whip  to  his  horse,  and  we 
sped  along.  I  arrived  at  the  station  exactly  one 
minute  too  late.  I  kicked  myself  in  my  disappoint- 
ment. 

u  What  time  does  the  next  train  leave  for  Buffalo  ?" 
I  inquired,  going  up  to  the  ticket  window. 

"  Not  until  6:10,"  replied  the  agent. 

Sadly  and  disconsolately  I  returned  to  my  hotel. 
I  made  up  my  mind  to  take  that  train.  I  felt 
rather  tired,  so  thought  I  would  lie  down  upon  the 
bed  for  an  hour  or  two.  I  fell  asleep.  When  I 
awoke  it  was  nearly  eight  o'clock.  I  never  com- 
mitted such  an  act  of  carelessness  in  my  life  before. 
Words  cannot  express  my  feelings. 

I  could  not  leave  Toronto  until  the  next 
morning.  The  morning  came,  and  I  did  not  leave 
the  city.  I  had  a  good  reason  for  wishing  to 
remain.  The  Chicago  papers  which  arrived  for 
me  recorded  the  fact  that  a  certain  man  by  the 
name  of  Long  had  seen  Dr.  Cronin  alive  in  the 
city  of  Toronto,  and  had  even  spoken  to  him. 

This  knocked  all  my  theories  in  the  head.  If 
Dr.  Crcnin  was  alive,  I  must  see  him,  and  so  I 

Cronin  Mystery  4 


5O  THE  GREAT   CRONIN   MYSTERY 

staid  over  in  the  city  for  that  purpose.  I  went 
to  the  hotel  where  he  was  supposed  to  be  stopping, 
but  found  that  no  man  answering  the  description 
of  Dr.  Cronin  had  been  seen  there.  I  left  the 
building  completely  puzzled. 

Was  the  man  I  had  seen  talking  with  the  woman, 
Long? 

If  I  could  only  find  him!  The  affair  was  growing 
decidedly  mysterious;  but  I  buckled  on  my  armor 
of  determination,  and  began  to  outline  fresh  plans. 

I  must  confess  I  felt  a  little  discouraged;  but  I 
had  sworn  to  find  the  missing  man,  and  I  meant  to 
do  so. 

The  afternoon  local  papers  recorded  the  fact  that 
Dr.  Cronin  had  gone  to  Montreal.  To  Montreal  I 
went.  Disappointment  again.  I  returned  to  To- 
ronto. The  next  day  was  Monday,  May  I3th. 
My  papers  arrived  as  usual.  The  Chicago  papers 
seemed  to  furnish  me  with  more  information  than 
any  others.  I  opened  the  Sunday  edition  of  the 
Times,  and,  with  astonishment,  read  the  following: 


THE  "LONG"  STORIES  51 

CHAPTER  VI. 

THE   "  LONG  "   STORIES. 

TORONTO,  ONT.,  May  n. —  After  Cronin  and 
his  party  left  Toronto  yesterday,  on  the  Grand 
Trunk  train  moving  west,  the  writer  telegraphed  a 
friend  at  Hamilton  a  description  of  the  two,  and 
requested  that  he  should  keep  a  sharp  lookout  for 
them;  also  that  he  should  telegraph  regarding  all 
their  movements,  and  follow  them,  no  matter  where 
they  went.  This  afternoon  at  4:10  o'clock  a  mes- 
sage was  received  here  stating  that  Cronin  alone 
had  left  Hamilton,  and  was  on  the  train  billed  to 
arrive  at  Toronto  about  5:3°  this  evening. 

The  Times  correspondent  met  the  train,  but 
neither  the  expected  doctor  nor  his  watcher  was  on 
board.  The  inference  drawn  was  that  Cronin  had 
left  the  train  at  a  small  station  near  the  city,  or, 
suspecting  that  he  might  be  watched,  had  given  his 
shadow  the  slip. 

Shortly  after  seven  o'clock  a  telephone  message 
was  received,  announcing  that  Cronin  was  caged 
and  in  safe  quarters  at  the  Rossin  House,  King 
street  west.  The  writer  quickly  sought  out  the 
fugitive. 

"  Well,  doctor,  back  again?"  was  the  first  remark, 
to  which  he  answered: 

"  Long,  it  is  really  too  bad  that  you  should  dog 
me  round  in  this  shape.  What  is  your  object  in 
doing  it?  I  have  committed  no  crime,  and  cannot 
see  why  you  should  thrust  my  name  before  the 


52  THE   GREAT   CRONIN   MYSTERY 

public  as  you  did  this  morning  in  the  Empire. 
You  lied  when  you  stated  that  Jim  Lynch  accom- 
panied me.  I  don't  even  know  the  man." 

"  Now,  Cronin,  you  must  certainly  know  that 
the  people  generally,  and  your  Chicago  friends 
particularly,  are  anxious  to  know  where  you  are, 
what  you  left  Chicago  for,  and  where  you  intend 
going.  Are  you  willing  to  make  any  statements? 
I  will  treat  you  fairly. " 

"I  don't  intend  making  statements,"  said  he. 
"  I  guess  I  have  some  rights,  and  question  very 
much  whether  you  should  be  allowed  to  make 
yourself  a  public  nuisance,  as  you  have  been  doing 
for  the  past  two  days.  Make  a  statement?  I  guess 
not.  Now,  please,  get  out  of  my  room  or  I  will 
kick  you  out.  " 

"  Doctor,  let  us  have  no  more  fooling.  The  town 
is  full  of  Chicago  detectives  who  are  looking  for 
you,  and,  if  you  don't  unburden  yourself  to  me  at 
once,  telling  the  whole  business,  why  you  left  Chi- 
cago, and  where  you  intend  going,  I  shall  be  com- 
pelled to  turn  you  over  to  the  authorities.  Now,  I 
don't  want  to  do  so  for  several  reasons.  First,  be- 
cause you  have  been  an  old  friend,  and,  to  be 
candid  with  you,  because  other  newspaper  men  all 
over  the  country  would  then  get  the  benefit  of  my 
work. " 

This  called  him  down,  and  he  seemed  to  be  willing 
to  do  or  say  anything  rather  than  have  the  detect- 
ives take  him  in  charge,  or  the  Chicago  newspa- 
pers get  anything  regarding  him.  He  seemed 


THE   "  LONG  "   STORIES  53 

anxious  to  know  all  about  the  detectives,  who  they 
were  and  when  they  came. 

Finally,  Cronin  came  down  to  business,  and  re- 
quested that  questions  should  be  put  to  him  and  he 
would  answer,  provided  not  a  word  should  be  given 
to  any  paper  outside  of  Toronto,  and  it  is  supposed 
he  thought  what  he  said  would  never  reach  the 
States.  After  the  necessary  promises  had  beea 
given,  he  was  asked: 

"  When  did  you  leave  Chicago?  " 

"  Just  a  week  ago  to-night. " 

"  Where  did  you  go  to?  " 

"  I  went  to  Montreal." 

"  How  did  you  leave  Chicago  ?  " 

"  Well,  I  refuse  to  answer  that." 

"  Come,  now,  Cronin,  remember  the  detectives." 

"  Now,  for  God's  sake,  don't  press  that  question. 
I  can't  answer  it." 

"  Well,  when  did  you  get  to  Montreal  ?  " 

"  I  got  there  Monday  evening  last. " 

"  Where  did  you  put  up  ?  " 

"  I  won't  answer  that.  " 

After  considerable  bickering  he  said  he  had  taken 
a  room  at  the  St.  Lawrence  Hall,  and  got  his  meals 
at  the  house  of  a  friend  whose  name  he  would  not 
give. 

"  Why  did  you  leave  Montreal,  and  when  did  you 
do  so  ?  " 

"  I  received  word  that  it  was  known  in  Chicago, 
or  at  least  suspected,  that  I  was  down  there  and 
got  out  so  that  I  could  not  be  found. " 

"  Where  did  you  go  then  ?  " 


54  THE   GREAT   CRONIN   MYSTERY 

"  I  came  up  to  Ottawa." 

"  When  did  you  leave  Montreal  ?  " 

"  I  left  there  on  Thursday  night." 

"  Where  did  you  put  up  in  Ottawa  ?  " 

"At  the  Russell  Hotel." 

"  Under  your  own  name  ?  " 

"  No." 

"  What  name  did  you  write  in  the  register  ?  " 

"  I  don't  remember?  " 

"  Was  it  Parkhurst?  " 

"  No;  that  was  not  the  name." 

"  What  address  did  you  give?  " 

"  I  think  it  was  New  York." 

"  Don't  you  know?  " 

"Yes." 

"  Well,  why  did  you  leave  Ottawa?  " 

"  Because  the  town  was  so  small  that  I  was  afraid 
some  one  might  get  to  know  me." 

"  When  you  got  to  Montreal,  where  did  you 
intend  going  from  there?  " 

"  I  intended  taking  a  steamer  for  France,  but 
found  that  no  ship  left  that  port  that  would  take 
me  there." 

"  Why  did  you  not  then  go  on  to  New  York?  " 

"  Because  I  am  well  known  there,  and  did  not 
dare  to  risk  it." 

"  Well,  after  you  left  Ottawa,  where  did  you 
go?" 

"  I  took  the  Canadian  Pacific  train  for  Toronto, 
and  arrived  here  Friday  morning  at  about  nine 
o'clock." 


THE   "  LONG"   STORIES  55 

"  Where  were  you  from  nine  o'clock  up  to  the  time 
the  Empire  reporter  met  you  on  Yonge  street?  " 

"  I  had  been  trying  to  find  Starkey,  the  lawyer, 
who  left  Chicago  last  winter." 

"  What  did  you  want  to  see  him  for?  " 

"  Simply  to  get  the  run  of  the  turn." 

"  Did  you  not  suspect  that  he  might  give  you 
away?" 

"  Oh,  no.  I  am  sure  he  would  not  do  that.  It 
would  not  be  to  his  interest." 

"  I  thought  Starkey  was  not  friendly  to  you. 
Did  he  not  at  one  time  try  to  hurt  your  reputa- 
tion? " 

"  I  don't  know  that  he  did.  In  any  case,  he 
would  not  do  so  now." 

"  Well,  now,  as  to  why  you  left  Chicago?  " 

"  I  have  been  declining  in  health  for  some  time, 
and  thought  it  would  do  me  good  to  take  a  trip." 

"  Oh,  come,  now;  don't  give  me  such  a  tale  as 
that.  If  that  had  been  your  motive,  why  should 
you  have  been  so  anxious  to  avoid  being  seen,  and 
why  should  you  have  left  Chicago  without  letting 
your  friends  know?  " 

"  Well,  now,  that  is  a  long  story,  and  the  telling 
of  it  would  implicate  a  great  number  of  my  friends, 
who  are  in  no  way  responsible  for  any  of  my 
actions.  I  trust  you  will  not  press  me  upon  this 
point." 

Cronin  was  pressed,  and  gave  up  the  following 
wonderful  story,  wild  in  some  of  its  parts,  and 
incriminating  a  number  of  prominent  men: 

"  While  I  lived  in  St.  Louis  I  moved  in  the  very 


56       THE  GREAT  CRONIN  MYSTERY 

upper  crust  of  society,  and  promptly  identified 
myself  in  the  Irish  cause  then  disturbing  the  public 
mind.  I  was  engaged  in  that  city  as  a  druggist, 
and  soon  got  to  the  front  rank.  I  studied  meanwhile 
at  medicine,  and  after  a  short  time  passed  my 
examination.  I  soon  found  that  the  great  Irish 
field  was  to  be  entered  either  at  Chicago  or  New 
York,  and,  after  consulting  my  intimate  friends, 
among  whom  was  Dr.  O'Reilly,  so  well  known  in 
St.  Louis,  I  made  up  my  mind  to  go  to  Chicago. 
I  did  so  armed  with  the  very  best  letters  of  intro- 
duction a  man  ever  had,  and  soon  found  myself 
prominent  in  Irish  as  well  as  other  circles  there. " 

He  then  went  on  to  say  that  he  soon  discovered 
that  the  large  quantities  of  money  being  received 
by  Alexander  Sullivan;  Dr.  O'Reilly,  of  Detroit; 
'John  O'Brien,  of  New  York,  and  Patrick  Egan, 
were  not  handled  properly,  and  that  not  more  than 
three-fourths  of  it  ever  reached  Ireland. 

"  I  know,"  he  said,  "  that  at  least  $85,000  was 
gobbled  up  by  certain  persons  in  Chicago,  and, 
when  I  began  to  '  call  the  turn  '  on  them,  they  tried 
to  scare  me  off,  and,  finding  that  a  failure,  they 
tried  to  bribe  me.  That  would  not  work,  and  their 
next  move  was  to  introduce  me  to  Le  Caron,  giv- 
ing his  name  as  Beach,  in  order  that  he  might  pump 
me  and  damage  me  in  any  other  way  that  he 
could. 

"  Beach  was  introduced  to  me  by  a  reporter  of 
the  Evening  News  named  Conwell,  a  man  whom  I 
had  always  considered  my  friend;  but,  since  the 
recent  developments  in  the  London  Times  case,  I 


THE    "  LONG       STORIES  57 

know  he  was  against  me,  and  that  Le  Caron  was 
introduced  to  me  for  no  good  purpose.  He  got 
very  little  out  of  me,  however,  and  that  means 
failed. 

"  I  have  been  warned  several  times  to  get  out  of 
the  country  by  friends,  and  assured  that  my  life 
was  in  danger,  but,  up  to  last  Saturday,  felt  that  I 
could  hold  my  own.  Last  Saturday,  however,  I 
was  put  in  possession  of  unquestionable  proof  that 
the  Clan-na-Gael  society  had  decided  that  my  life 
should  be  taken.  A  man  was  appointed  as  my 
executioner,  and  preparations  were  in  active  prog- 
ress to  accomplish  the  deed.  Enough  to  say,  I 
made  up  my  mind  at  once  to  fly.  You  know  the 
rest. 

"  The  lady  who  accompanied  me  on  the  Ham- 
ilton train  was  quite  unknown  to  me,  as  was  also 
the  gentleman,  until  I  met  them  on  the  train  be- 
tween Ottawa  and  Toronto.  Neither  of  them  knew 
who  I  was  until  you  met  me  on  Yonge  street  Fri- 
day morning.  They  happened  to  be  going  to 
Buffalo  on  the  same  train  I  took  out  of  Toronto,  and 
I  left  them  at  Hamilton." 

This  part  of  the  story  proved  to  be  true. 

"  Did  you  plan  for  a  man  to  call  at  your  office  in 
Chicago  and  request  you  to  go  out  to  the  ice  house 
to  attend  a  patient?  " 

"  That  I  will  not  answer." 

When  asked  what  move  he  intended  to  make  next, 
the  doctor  at  first  refused  to  answer,  but  finally  said 
he  would  get  to  France  as  soon  as  possible. 

"  I  left  some  very  important  documents  behind 


58  THE   GREAT   CRONIN   MYSTERY 

v 

in  Chicago,"  he  said,  "  and  only  hope  that  I  can  get 
to  a  country  where  I  will  be  safe.  Then  I  will 
make  some  disclosures  which  will  open  the  eyes  of 
the  public  generally  and  make  the  hair  stand  on  the 
heads  of  several  Chicago  and  New  York  gentlemen. 
All  this  bull  rot  about  my  having  been  seen  on  a 
cable-car  on  Saturday  night,  which  you  have  stated, 
is  entirely  false.  I  asked  no  conductor  for  direc- 
tions. I  guess  I  know  Chicago  about  as  well  as  any 
street-car  conductor  there,  and  would  not  have 
given  myself  away  in  any  such  manner  in  any 
case. 

"  The  Conklins  have  made  fools  of  themselves 
over  the  whole  matter.  According  to  the  instruc- 
tions I  left  with  them,  they  should  not  have  opened 
their  mouths  until  I  was  safely  out  of  the  country. 
But  it  is  the  same  old  story.  Tell  a  woman  any- 
thing, and  you  are  sure  to  get  the  worst  of  it. 
Scanlan  missing?  Well,  he  has  nothing  to  do 
with  my  case  that  I  know  of.  He  was  simply  a 
good  friend,  and  I  trust  no  harm  has  come  to  him 
through  his  friendship  for  me." 

The  doctor  intimated  that  a  certain  Methodist 
minister  had  caused  all  this  trouble,  but  would  not 
disclose  his  name.  The  lady  who  accompanied 
the  doctor  from  Toronto  to  Hamilton  proved  to  be 
a  lady  from  Buffalo,  and  had  no  knowledge  of  the 
"  distinguished  "  company  she  was  keeping  until 
he  had  the  Toronto  Empire  this  morning.  The 
doctor  says  that  the  man  who  walked  up  Yonge 
street  with  him  Friday  afternoon  was  also  unknown 


THE  "  LONG  "    STORIES  59 

to   him    until  Thursday  night,  and  he  was  on  his 
way  to  Winnipeg. 

This,  however,  proves  to  be  false,  as  the  fellow  has 
been  located  at  Collingwood,  a  small  town  about 
100  miles  north  of  Toronto.  He  is  unknown  there, 
and  may  be  waiting  a  steamer  which  would  take 
him  to  Winnipeg,  but,  so  far  as  can  be  learned,  he 
has  made  no  inquiry  as  to  when  the  boat  would 
leave.  In  appearance,  he  resembles  Jim  Lynch,  of 
Judge  Clifford's  court,  but  says  he  is  from  New 
Brunswick.  He  is  decidedly  quiet,  and  refuses  to 
give  an  account  of  himself. 

The  doctor  left  the  Rossin  House  shortly  after 
twelve  o'clock  to-night,  and  walked  down  to  the 
Yonge  street  dock.  He  did  not  take  his  bag  with 
him,  however,  and  returned  to  the  hotel  shortly  after 
one  o'clock. 

Frank  Scanlan,  who  is  employed  in  the  whole- 
sale grocery  house  of  William  M.  Hoyt  &  Co., 
gives  the  following  account  of  Long,  and  of 
Long's  acquaintance  with  Dr.  Cronin: 

"  Long  once  worked  for  William  M.  Hoyt  & 
Co.  While  he  was  in  the  city,  he  made  an  ap- 
plication for  membership  in  the  Columbia  Coun- 
cil of  the  Royal  League,  an  insurance  society. 
Dr.  Cronin  was  the  society's  medical  examiner. 
Long  finally  left  our  firm,  and  worked  for  a  time 
with  some  firm  on  Michigan  avenue.  Subse- 
quently he  joined  the  staff  of  a  morning  paper, 
where  he  remained  six  or  seven  months.  Upon 
leaving  the  paper,  he  went  to  the  home  of  his 
parents  in  Canada. 


6O       THE  GREAT  CRONIN  MYSTERY 

"  Long  and  Dr.  Cronin  became  friends  through 
their  secret  society  acquaintance.  I  belong  to 
the  same  society  myself.  Every  meeting  night, 
those  of  us  who  lived  on  the  North  Side  walked 
home  together.  The  boys  would  turn  off  at  their 
'  respective  streets,  and  finally  Dr.  Cronin,  Long 
and  myself  would  be  the  last  left.  Long  knows 
the  doctor  well.  If  he  says  he  saw  Dr.  Cronin 
in  Toronto,  he  saw  him  there,  you  can  rely  upon 
that.  The  only  strange  thing  about  the  matter 
is  that  Long  did  not  at  once  telegraph  to  some 
of  us  that  he  had  seen  Cronin." 


THE  NEXT  DAY'S   REPORTS  6 1 

CHAPTER  VII. 

THE   NEXT   DAY'S    REPORTS. 

NATURALLY,  upon  reading  this  article,  I  felt  dumb- 
founded. No  one  seemed  to  know  anything  of  the 
presence  of  Dr.  Cronin  in  Toronto  except  Long, 
and  Long  I  could  not  find.  I  knew  that  there  were 
other  detectives  in  the  city.  I  saw  many  familiar 
faces.  I  did  my  best  to  keep  under  cover,  how- 
ever. I  determined  to  investigate  this  Long  affair 
thoroughly,  and  then,  if  I  found  there  was  nothing 
in  it,  ferret  out  my  lady  once  more.  I  still  be- 
lieved that  she  could  furnish  valuable  information. 
Still,  it  was  worth  my  while  to  stop  over  in  Toronto 
a  few  days  yet.  • 

I  firmly  believed  that  the  lady  who  had  stated 
that  she  accompanied  the  doctor  upon  his  trip,  was 
the  same  that  I  was  interested  in,  and,  somehow 
or  other,  the  idea  found  lodgment  in  my  brain  that 
the  trip  had  been  made  for  the  purpose  of  corrob- 
orating "  Long's  "  statement.  It  might  not  be  so, 
but  it  looked  like  it  to  me.  If  Dr.  Cronin  had  not 
been  in  Toronto,  then  there  was  some  deep-laid 
plot  to  keep  his  whefeabouts  a  secret.  Was  Dr. 
Cronin  alive  or  dead?  That  was  the  thought  that 
bothered  me  now. 

The  Chicago  Herald  of  the  I3th  inst.  reached  me 
upon  the  I4th.  I  read  it  eagerly.  Fresh  surprise 
awaited  me.  Under  the  head  of  "  Cronin  Missing 
Again,"  it  said: 


62        THE  GREAT  CRONIN  MYSTERY 

TORONTO,  May  12. 

"  Dr.  Cronin  is  a  fugitive.  He  has  not  been  seen 
in  Toronto  since  ten  o'clock  this  morning,  when 
Long,  his  former  Chicago  friend,  left  him  under  the 
surveillance  of  an  amateur  detective,  paid  for  the 
purpose.  Cronin  then  was  in  a  state  bordering  on 
terror,  and  begged  frequently  that  detectives  should 
not  be  put  upon  his  track,  and  offered  to  give  any 
additional  particulars  he  knew  about  affairs  gener- 
ally. Dispatches  from  Chicago  newspapers  had 
given  the  story  of  suspicion  against  Cronin  in 
respect  to  the  trunk  mystery.  When  asked  about 
this  yesterday  he  denied  that  he  knew  anything. 
This  morning,  when  the  news  contained  in  Chicago 
dispatches  was  communicated  to  him,  he  stuck  to 
that  statement,  though  once  or  twice  threatened 
with  exposure  and  the  allegation  that  detectives 
were  waiting  in  the  vestibule  of  the  hotel,  and  had 
a  warrant  for  his  arrest  on  the  charge  of  malprac- 
tice. He  was  next  asked  if  there  was  any  truth  in 
the  other  story  about  his  going  to  London  to  com- 
municate with  the  British  Government.  His  man- 
ner and  evasive  replies  tended  to  create  this 
impression,  rather  than  that  he  made  his  escape 
from  Chicago  over  the  trunk  mystery.  He  said  he 
intended  in  a  day  or  two  to  return  to  Montreal, 
where  he  had  been,  to  get  one  of  the  Canadian- 
French  line  boats  to  Paris.  Then,  he  said,  he 
might  go  to  England. 

"  Cronin  promised  he  did  not  intend  to  leave  To- 
ronto for  a  few  days.  He  was  not  registered  at  the 
hotel,  and  the  scores  of  reporters  who  called  were 


THE  NEXT  DAY'S  REPORTS         63 

informed  that  he  was  not  staying  there,  and  had 
not  been  there.  This  was  arranged  by  Cronin's 
occupying  a  room  engaged  by  another  party,  so  the 
hotel  clerk  had  no  idea  that  the  man  was  in  the 
house.  The  information  contained  in  the  interview 
was  no  doubt  intended  by  Cronin  to  mislead,  and 
the  interviewer  was  well  aware  of  the  fact  at  the 
time.  He  got  his  amateur  detective  at  the  end  of 
the  corridor,  and  told  him  to  keep  his  eyes  open, 
and,  when  Cronin  was  left  alone  in  his  apartment, 
to  see  that  he  did  not  leave  it.  Some  few  minutes 
after  Cronin  made  a  dash  from  his  room,  and  went 
down  the  stairs.  He  had  evidently  seen  the  man 
who  was  watching  him,  and  his  action  must  have 
been  taken  after  a  great  deal  of  deliberation.  When 
the  detective  saw  him  on  the  stairs,  he  walked  to  the 
staircase  leading  to  the  ladies'  entrance  to  intercept 
Cronin  there.  Cronin,  however,  had  only  gone  half 
way  down  the  staircase.  Then  he  returned,  and 
took  the  elevator,  descending  to  the  ladies'  entrance, 
where  the  detective,  not  finding  him,  thought  he 
had  been  fooled,  and  again  returned  to  the  head  of 
the  stairs.  Cronin  had  disappeared.  At  eleven 
o'clock  a  second  detective  was  at  the  hotel  to  renew 
the  watch  over  Cronin. 

"  There  is  no  trace  whatever  of  Cronin  since  eleven 
o'clock.  The  people  at  the  Rossin  House  know 
nothing  of  Cronin  getting  out.  The  theory  is  that 
Cronin,  fearing  arrest  on  the  charge  of  murder,  has 
gone  to  Montreal  again.  The  only  trains  leaving 
the  city  to-day  were  the  morning  and  evening, 
express  and  the  noon  train  for  Hamilton.  Cronin 


64  THE   GREAT   CRONIN   MYSTERY 

was  seen  after  the  morning  express  had  left.  The 
evening  express  was  watched,  and  few  people  went 
on  the  noon  train,  no  one  of  them  answering  to 
Cronin's  description.  The  livery  stables  did  not 
hire  out  any  rig  that  could  have  carried  the  man  a 
great  distance  out  of  the  city.  His  disappearance 
is  a  perfect  mystery.  Dispatches  from  St.  Cath- 
arines to-night  say  that  Cronin  is  believed  to  be 
stopping  there  with  friends.  It  would  be  outside 
the  range  of  possibility  that  he  could  have  reached 
there  except  by  driving  from  Hamilton.  Several 
dispatches  have  been  received  by  Mr.  Axworthy, 
of  Cleveland,  and  at  the  Rossin  House,  making 
inquiries  after  Cronim." 


WHAT   HIS   FRIENDS  THOUGHT  65 

CHAPTER  VIII. 

WHAT  THE    FRIENDS    OF  THE    DOCTOR    THOUGHT 
ABOUT   IT. 

THE  Herald  went  on  to  state  that  "  the  Conklins 
were  as  emphatically  positive  that  Dr.  Cronin  is  a 
murdered  man  as  they  were  a  week  ago.  The 
Toronto  story  and  the  alleged  interview  with  Dr. 
Cronin  they  unhesitatingly  pronounce  a  base  fabri- 
cation from  beginning  to  end. 

"  '  Don't  you  believe  this  man  Long  knew  Dr. 
Cronin,'  Mr.  Conklin  was  asked  yesterday  after- 
noon, 'and  that  when  he  saw  him  in  the  street  in 
Toronto  he  recognized  him?' 

"  '  I  have  no  doubt,'  answered  Conklin,  '  that 
Long  knew  the  doctor,  and  that,  if  he  saw  the 
doctor  on  the  street,  he  would  not  be  mistaken  in 
the  identity  of  the  man.  But  he  didn't  see  Dr. 
Cronin.  That  interview  is  a  tissue  of  falsehoods 
throughout.  For  instance,  among  other  things, 
it  is  alleged  that  the  doctor  said  that  he  fled  from 
Chicago  to  escape  assassination  at  the  hands  of  the 
Clan-na-Gaels.  Well,  the  Clan-na-Gaels  were  his 
friends.  I'll  tell  you  who  concocted  the  story  with 
Long:  It  was  Starkey.  Starkey  was  one  of  Dr. 
Cronin's  bitterest  enemies,  and  was  particularly 
interested  in  starting  just  such  a  story  as  the  one 
sent  from  Toronto.  It  is  only  a  part  of  the  big 
conspiracy  I  have  always  said  existed.  Oh,  they've 
worked  it  fine,  but  I  tell  you  it's  a  long  lane  that 

Cronin  Mystery  $ 


66  THE   GREAT   CRONIN   MYSTERY 

has  no  turn.  Public  sentiment  is  bound  to  turn 
soon,  and  then  you'll  see  what  developments  come 
out.' 

"  '  Well,  who  do  you  think  Long  is?  Long  was  a 
well-known  Chicago  man,  a  friend  of  Dr.  Cronin's, 
wasn't  he? ' 

"  'Yes;  the  doctor  had  befriended  him  time  and 
again;  in  fact,  he  gave  him  letters  of  recommenda- 
tion when  Long  left  the  city.  This  is  what  he  gets 
back  for  his  friendship.' 

"  '  Long,'  said  Mrs.  Conklin,  who  happened  to 
come  in  then,  '  is  nothing  but  a  British  spy.  Yes, 
sir;  that's  what  he  is.' 

"  The  couple  kept  on  in  that  line  for  a  half-hour 
or  more.  Mrs.  Conklin  complained  bitterly  of  the 
treatment  both  she  and  her  husband  had  received 
at  the  hands  of  the  newspapers,  claiming  that  they 
had  been  outrageously  vilified,  and  all  of  their 
statements  distorted. 

"  A  rumor  to  the  effect  that  the  Pinkertons  had 
dropped  the  Cronin  case  because  they  had  traced 
the  doctor  to  Ottawa,  Canada,  was  run  down  yester- 
day afternoon.  William  A.  Pinkerton  was  seen. 
'  It  is  not  so,'  he  said,  '  that  we  have  ceased  work- 
ing on  the  case  because  we  had  discovered  that 
Dr.  Cronin  had  gone  to  Ottawa.  We  don't  know 
that.  We  dropped  the  case  because  we  didn't  think 
the  Conklins  could  stand  the  expense.  All  the 
clues  given  us  by  the  Conklins  were  worked  out  by 
my  men.  I'll  tell  you,  candidly,  I  believe  Dr. 
Cronin  will  turn  up  again  all  right,  for  I  don't  think 
the  man  was  murdered.' 


WHAT  HIS   FRIENDS   THOUGHT 


67 


"  Ex-Captain  Villiers,  of  Lake  View,  and  his  suc- 
cessor, Captain  Wing,  held  a  long  consultation 
with  Captain  Shaack  and  his  detectives  yesterday 
afternoon.  They  then  turned  over  the  trunk  and 
its  contents  of  crimson  cotton  batting  to  the  Chi- 
cago avenue  men,  who  have  now  assumed  the  full 
conduct  of  the  investigation.  The  trunk  was 
brought  down  from  the  Lake  View  station  in  a 


ir 


A  Police  Conference  with  the  Mayor. 

patrol  wagon,  which  was  followed  by  crowds  of 
morbidly  curious  males  and  females  of  all  ages  and 
stations,  all  of  whom  feasted  their  eyes  on  the  re- 
ceptacle which  is  believed  to  have  shielded  one  of 
the  most  mysterious  crimes  with  which  the  Chicago 
police  have  ever  grappled. 

"  Inspector  Ebersold  took  a  hand  in  the  Cronin 
case,  and  spent  the  greater  part  of  the  day  in  the 
vicinity  of  the  spot  where  the  trunk  was  found. 


68       THE  GREAT  CRONIN  MYSTERY 

His  investigations  resulted  in  finding  a  possible 
clue  to  the  trunk  mystery.  On  arriving  at  his  office 
in  the  afternoon,  the  inspector  dispatched  an  officer 
to  the  North  Side  to  follow  up  the  lead  struck  by 
Ebersold  himself.  What  the  nature  of  the  clue  is, 
the  inspector  was  not  prepared  to  say.  '  It  may 
amount  to  nothing,'  he  said,  '  but  I  think  that  it 
will,  in  all  probability,  substantiate  the  story  told 
by  Woodruff,  and  give  us  something  definite  in 
regard  to  the  contents  of  that  trunk.' 

"  Inspector  Ebersold  refused  to  say  more  about 
his  clue,  but  he  evidently  put  considerable  faith  in 
it.  It  leads  outside  of  the  city,  as  the  telegraph 
wires  were  freely  used  in  sending  messages  from  the 
inspector's  office,  late  in  the  afternoon. 

"  The  work  of  dragging  the  pond  at  Lincoln  Park 
was  continued  during  the  day,  but  failed  to  result 
in  any  developments.  The  officers  engaged  in  the 
work  have  all  lost  faith  in  finding  a  body  there. 

"  More  testimony  corroborative  of  the  sensational 
confession  of  Woodruff  was  gathered  by  Captain 
Schaack  and  his  detectives  yesterday,  and  they 
were  of  the  opinion  last  night  that  they  were  on  the 
eve  of  discoveries  that  would  lead  to  a  clearing  up 
of  the  mystery  of  the  trunk  that  was  found  in  Lake 
View.  The  police  have  discontinued  the  dragging 
of  the  Lincoln  Park  lakes,  having  convinced 
themselves  of  the  strength  of  the  theory  that 
the  body  of  the  woman  alleged  to  have  been  taken 
from  the  trunk  in  Lincoln  Park,  was  taken  out 
and  sunk  to  the  bottom  of  Lake  Michigan. 
Their  belief  in  this  theory  was  strengthened 


WHAT   HIS   FRIENDS   THOUGHT  69 

by  a  report  received  from  a  Mr.  Anderson, 
living  on  Diversey  avenue.  Mr.  Anderson  owned 
a  row-boat,  described  as  boat  No.  12,  which,  late 
on  the  night  of  Saturday,  May  4,  he  left  securely 
fastened  to  the  breakwater  only  a  few  hundred 
yards  away  from  the  spot  where  Woodruff  says 
Fairburn  and  King  lifted  the  body  of  their  victim 
from  the  trunk.  Early  on  Sunday  morning  Mr. 
Anderson  found  that  his  boat  had  been  stolen,  and 
he  has  had  no  tidings  of  it  since. 

"  Two  detectives  from  the  West  Twelfth  Street 
Station  took  the  prisoner  Woodruff,  or  Black,  over 
to  the  North  Side  yesterday  afternoon,  and  loaned 
him  to  Captain  Schaack,  who  gave  the  prisoner  a 
buggy  ride.  Lieutenant  Schuttler  and  Officer 
Whelan  followed  in  another  buggy.  Woodruff 
guided  the  officers  to  Dean's  stable,  on  Webster 
avenue,  and  then  over  the  entire  route  he  claims  to 
have  taken  Sunday  morning  a  week  ago.  The  time 
consumed  in  the  expedition  was  carefully  noted, 
and  it  agreed  with  all  the  statements  previously 
made  by  Woodruff  in  his  confessions.  Captain 
Schaack  returned  from  the  trip  more  than  ever 
impressed  with  the  truthfulness  of  the  prisoner's 
story.  He  has  been  persistent  in  the  most  trivial 
details  as  to  time,  localities  and  persons,  and  if,  as 
some  people  believe,  he  has  been  hoodwinking  the 
police,  he  has  done  it  with  a  most  ingenious 
romance.  The  North  Side  police  say  that  the  barn 
at  528  State  street  was  the  place  from  which  the 
trunk,  found  in  Lake  View,  was  taken.  They  assert 


7O       THE  GREAT  CRONIN  MYSTERY 

this  positively,  but  refuse  to  tell  what  evidence  they 
have  on  the  matter. 

"  Woodruff  has  identified  a  picture  in  the  rogue's 
gallery  as  a  portrait  of  Dick  Fairburn,  taken  when 
that  worthy  was  arrested  for  vagrancy  in  1883. 
The  capture  of  Fairburn  is  confidently  looked  for, 
as  he  is  well  known.  About  the  other  man, 
William  H.  King,  the  police  know  nothing,  but 
they  appeared  to  think  he  will  be  found  in  Chi- 
cago. Captain  Schaack  has  given  up  all  his  efforts 
to  find  Cronin  since  the  positive  information  was 
received  from  Toronto  that  the  missing  doctor  was 
in  the  Canadian  city,  telling  reporters  that  he  ran 
away  from  Chicago  to  escape  assassination  at  the 
hands  of  a  man  selected  by  the  Clan-na-Gael  to 
'  remove '  him  on  account  of  the  evidence  he  pos- 
sessed against  certain  Irish  leaders.  The  captain 
would  not  say  whether  or  not  he  believed  Cronin 
had  any  connection  with  the  trunk  mystery. 

'  The  West  Twelfth  street  police  have  been  un- 
earthing the  records  of  Woodruff,  King  and  Fair- 
burn.  They  are,  according  to  the  information  given 
out  by  the  West  Side  officers,  a  trio  of  bad  men. 
It  is  stated  that  Woodruff  committed  a  murder  in 
Mexico  some  years  ago.  This  knowledge  will  be 
used  to  help  in  extracting  information  from  the 
hostler.  Fairburn  has  been  going  under  the  name 
of  Neil  White,  which  he  assumed  after  the  original 
owner  of  it  had  been  planted  for  a  long  term  in  the 
Canon  City,  Colo.,  Penitentiary.  Woodruff  is 
very  much  afraid  of  Fairburn,  and  went  to  see  him 
behind  the  bars.  The  man  King's  record  has  been 


WHAT   HIS   FRIENDS  THOUGHT  /I 

partially  developed.  He  is  said  to  have  been  a 
member  of  a  gang  headed  by  a  man  named  Carr, 
who  is  doing  a  long  prison  stretch  in  a  Western 
State.  After  Carr's  conviction,  King  was  shunned 
by  Carr's  other  pals.  Woodruff  told  the  police  that 
King  formerly  kept  company  with  one  Maud  Pres- 
ton, living  on  Center  avenue.  He  quarreled  with 
her,  and  they  separated,  according  to  the  story  the 
woman  told  the  detectives  when  they  called  on  her. 


"Sweating"  a  Prisoner. 

She  said  she  had  not  seen  him  in  a  long  time,  but 
Woodruff  claims  that  King  has  been  at  her  house 
within  ashorttime.  The  description  Maud  Preston 
gave  to  King  differs  from  that  given  by  Woodruff, 
and  this  fact  has  aroused  police  suspicion  that  the 
woman  is  trying  to  cover  up  King's  tracks.  Mr. 
Conklin  claims  to  have  seen  a  man  answering  Fair- 
burn's  description  hanging  around  in  the  vicinity 


72  THE   GREAT   CRONIN  MYSTERY 

of  Dr.  Cronin's  home  just  previous  to  what  he  terms 
the  doctor's  abduction. 

"  Woodruff  identified  the  trunk  which  figured  in 
the  night  ride,  selecting  it  without  difficulty  or 
hesitancy  from  three.  He  also  said,  while  stand- 
ing with  the  officers  at  the  spot  where  the  body 
had  been  taken  from  the  trunk:  'You  should  look 
in  the  lake,  not  in  the  park  pond,  for  that  body.' 
A  photograph  of  Fairburn,  who  is  implicated  by 
Woodruff  in  the  case,  was  found  in  the  rogues' 
gallery  at  Twelfth  Street  Station.  Fairburn  was 
under  arrest  there  for  vagrancy,  and  was  photo- 
graphed in  1883.  The  photograph  was  shown 
with  others  to  Woodruff,  who  at  once  identified  it. 
The  police  feel  more  confident  now  of  securing  his 
arrest." 

I  turned  from  the  Herald  and  picked  up  the 
Times.  I  found  that  the  prevailing  idea  among 
the  friends  of  the  doctor  was  that  he  was  murdered. 
The  Times  said: 

"  The  intimate  friends  of  Dr.  Cronin  still  hold  to 
the  belief  that  he  was  murdered,  and  place  no  cre- 
dence in  any  theory  or  rumor  which  would  otherwise 
account  for  his  sudden  and  mysterious  disappear- 
ance. The  story  sent  by  Long  from  Toronto  they 
discredit,  and  regard  it  as  part  of  a  plot  to  distract 
attention  from  the  murder.  Of  Long  himself,  some 
of  them  express  anything  but  favorable  opinions." 


WOODRUFF  TALKS  73 

CHAPTER  IX. 

A  PROMINENT  RAILROAD  MAN  SPEAKS,  AND  WOOD- 
RUFF SAYS  A  FEW  WORDS. 

I  CAME  to  the  same  conclusion  that  seemed  to 
pervade  the  minds  of  Dr.  Cronin's  friends.  I  felt 
certain  that  the  missing  doctor  had  not  been  in 
Toronto  at  all.  I  had  quietly,  but  skillfully,  investi- 
gated the  matter  thoroughly,  and  I  could  not  find 
any  one  who  could  give  me  the  slighest  information 
that  would  prove  anything.  The  idea  seemed  to 
be  believed  by  some,  however,  and  each  succeed- 
ing day  brought  some  one  else  who  had  seen,  or 
who  claimed  to  have  seen,  the  missing  man. 

The  Chicago  Times  of  Tuesday,  May  I4th,  pub- 
lished the  following  remarkable  statement,  which  I 
read  with  amazement: 

"  Dr.  Cronin  was  alive  and  well  last  Friday  after- 
noon. He  was  seenatthe  Rossin  Hotel,  inToronto, 
by  an  official  of  a  Canadian  railroad  who  arrived 
in  Chicago  yesterday.  This  official  is  in  the  city 
on  a  mission  requiring  some  secrecy,  and  is  unwill- 
ing to  have  his  name  used  in  connection  with  the 
case  until  his  work  is  done.  He  is  a  prominent  and 
trusted  officer  of  a  wealthy  corporation,  and  a  mis- 
statement  by  him  would  injure  him  greatly.  His 
story  is  partly  corroborative  of  Long's.  He  told  a 
Times  reporter  of  his  seeing  Cronin. 

"  '  I  am  willing  to  tell  all  I  know  about  Dr.  Cronin, 
but  I  am  here  on  a  mission  of  such  a  nature  that  I 
do  not  want  my  presence  known  except  by  those 


74  THE   GREAT  CRONIN  MYSTERY 

I  will  meet  during  the  transaction  of  my  business. 
I  know  Dr.  Cronin  as  well  as  anybody  in  the 
United  States.  I  lived  at  St.  Catharines,  Ont. , 
when  Cronin  landed  in  America.  He  was  then 
quite  a  young  man.  He  came  to  St.  Catharines 
just  after  he  landed.  He  lived  with  his  sisters. 
They  all  live  at  St.  Catharines  now,  and  are  all 
married  to  prominent  business  men  of  the  town. 
They  are  Mrs.  Breen,  Mrs.  Welch  and  Mrs.  Car- 
roll. Mrs.  Breen's  husband  keeps  the  Breen  Hotel, 
Mr.  Welch  is  a  well-known  grocer,  and  Mr.  Carroll 
is  a  tailor. 

"  '  St.  Catharines  is  forty  miles  from  Toronto.  I 
was  at  the  hotel  kept  by  Mrs.  Breen  two  weeks 
ago.  I  naturally  inquired  about  the  doctor,  and 
Mrs.  Breen  replied  that  he  was  doing  nicely  in 
Chicago.  Some  weeks  ago  one  of  the  doctor's 
sisters  told  me  that  Cronin  was  possessed  of  a  per- 
fect craze  for  notoriety.  "  When  Alexander  Sulli- 
van and  Patrick  Egan  entrapped  Pigott,"  she  said, 
"  the  doctor  was  so  crazed  with  jealousy  that  he 
came  near  losing  his  reason." 

"  '  Did  you  have  any  interview  with  Dr.  Cronin 
last  Friday?' 

"  'The  circumstances  were  such  that  I  was  unable 
to  have  any  protracted  interview  with  him.  There 
could  be  no  mistake.  I  knew  Dr.  Cronin  when  he 
was  a  boy.  He  came  to  St.  Catharines  as  a  shoe- 
maker. Relatives  helped  him  to  obtain  a  medical 
education.  Having  known  him  from  boyhood,  and 
knowing  his  relatives  well,  it  was  natural  when  I 
saw  them  to  inquire  about  him.' 


WOODRUFF   TALKS  75 

"  '  Why  did  you  not  telegraph  his  friends  here  that 
you  had  seen  him?  ' 

"  '  In  the  first  place,  I  don't  personally  know  any 
of  his  Chicago  friends;  besides,  I  did  not  care  to  be 
mixed  up  in  the  affair.  Some  of  the  people  who 
insist  that  he  is  dead  would  probably  say  that  I 
was  hired  to  lie  about  it.  I  don't  care  for  that 
kind  of  newspaper  notoriety.' 

"  '  Did  Dr.  Cronin  act  like  a  man  who  had  taken 
drugs,  or  who  had  been  under  the  influence  of 
liquor  ?  ' 

"  '  He  did  not.  He  used  to  get  drunk.  He  was 
on  a  spree  one  time  in  Philadelphia,  and  became 
involved  in  a  broil.  I  don't  care  to  discuss  his 
character.  He  was  a  strange  contradiction,  a 
mixture  of  rare  moral  rectitude,  combined  with 
morbid  vanity  and  love  of  notoriety.  His  name 
was  hardly  dry  on  the  records  of  any  society  he 
joined  before  he  plunged  to  the  front  with  dis- 
organizing assertions.  Everything  was  always 
going  wrong.' 

"  '  Where  do  you  think  Dr.  Cronin  went  from 
Toronto  !  ' 

"  '  I  don't  know.  I  took  it  for  granted  that  he 
had  been  or  was  going  to  see  his  sisters  at  St. 
Catharines.  I  am  prepared  to  make  an  affidavit 
that  I  did  see  him  as  stated.  That  affidavit  I  will 
deposit  with  the  Times' 

"  '  Did  you  see  Dr.  Cronin  at  any  time  after  Fri- 
day noon? ' 

"  '  I  did  not.  I  went  to  the  Rossin  Hotel,  and 
inquired  at  other  places,  but  was  unable  to  get  any 


76  THE   GREAT  CRONIN  MYSTERY 

trace  of  him.  I  will  not  be  positive  now,  but  my 
recollection  is  that  Dr.  Cronin  did  not  register. 
Dr.  Cronin  was  alone  when  I  saw  him.  I  saw 
nothing  of  any  woman  who  it  has  been  said 
were  his  companions.  Dr.  Cronin's  case  has 
become  notorious,  and  I  dropped  it  because  I  did 
not  want  the  notoriety  that  would  follow  any  part 
I  might  take  in  it.' 

"  The  story  told  by  Frank  Woodruff,  alias  Frank 
J.  Black,  the  man  who  says  he  threw  the  trunk  on 
the  Lake  View  prairie,  was  yesterday  proved  to  be 
true  ;  but  that  part  of  the  story  to  the  effect  that 
the  body  of  a  woman  was  taken  from  the  trunk  in 
Lincoln  Park  by  W.  H.  King  and  Dick  Fairburn, 
was  proved  to  be  a  falsehood. 

"  Woodruff  was  at  the  West  Twelfth  Street  Police 
Station  nearly  all  day,  but  late  in  the  afternoon  was 
taken  to  the  County  Jail.  He  was  taken  before 
Justice  Doyle  during  the  morning,  charged  with 
stealing  the  white  horse  and  the  red  and  black 
wagon  from  Dean.  He  waived  examination,  and 
the  justice,  after  hearing  two  witnesses,  fixed  the 
bail  at  $  1,000.  Dean  testified  he  had  not  seen  the 
horse  and  wagon  since  he  let  Woodruff  take  them, 
and  John  Green  related  how  the  man  tried  to  dis- 
pose of  the  horse  for  a  ridiculously  low  price. 

"  While  he  was  at  the  station,  Woodruff  was  asked 
if  he  would  be  able  to  identify  the  man  called  '  Doc  ' 
by  a  photograph.  '  Doc '  was  the  large  man  who, 
.according  to  the  story,  was  at  the  barn  when  the 
trunk  was  put  on  the  wagon,  and  was  supposed  to 
be  the  man  of  whom  King  spuUce  when  he  said:  '  If 


WOODRUFF  TALKS  77 

we  had  let "  Tom  "  alone,  the  "  Doc"  would  be  in  the 
trunk  too.'  Many  have  believed  this  '  Doc '  was 
Dr.  Cronin.  Woodruff  said  he  would  recognize  a 
picture  of  the  man.  He  was  then  shown  a  bundle 
of  about  a  dozen  pictures.  Dr.  Cronin's  picture 
was  among  them.  He  examined  the  pictures  care- 
fully, and  said  he  did  not  recognize  any  of  them. 

"  Woodruff's  story  that  he  received  $15  from  his 
father  last  Tuesday  is  corroborated  by  the  Wells  & 
Fargo  Express  Company.  The  teller  remembers 
Woodruff  well.  The  money  came  from  J.  Black, 
of  San  Francisco,  and  was  receipted  for  by  Frank  J. 
Black.  The  teller  noticed  that  the  first  ringer  of 
Woodruff's  left  hand  was  off  at  the  middle  joint. 

"  Detective  Rohan  has  established  the  fact  that 
Fairburn  was  not  with  Woodruff  and  the  trunk. 
Rohan  says  Fairburn  is  5°O  miles  from  Chicago, 
where  he  has  been  for  four  weeks.  The  evidence 
is  said  to  be  positive. 

"  Woodruff  was  asked:  '  How  do  you  know  that 
Dr.  Cronin's  body  was  not  in  the  trunk?  ' 

"  '  Because  the  body  was  that  of  a  woman.' 

"  '  Did  you  see  her  face?  ' 

"  '  I  did  not.' 

"  '  How  do  you  know  that  it  was  the  body  of  a 
woman?  ' 

"  '  I  saw  one  of  her  hands.  It  was  a  plump  and 
very  white  hand;  considerably  smaller  than  that  of 
the  average  woman.  It  was  not  the  hand  of  a 
woman  who  had  been  sick.' 

"  'Was  the  body  that  of  a  large  or  a  small 
woman? ' 


78  THE   GREAT   CRONIN   MYSTERY 

"'The  woman  weighed  about  130  pounds,  I 
should  think.  She  certainly  didn't  weigh  over  140 
pounds.  Dr.  Cronin  wasn't  in  that  trunk.' 

"  '  Did  you  ever  see  Dr.  Cronin?  ' 

"  '  I  never  did.' 

"  '  Is  it  not  a  fact  that  you  know  whose  body  was 
in  that  trunk?  ' 

"  '  I  don't  know  whose  body  it  was,  but  I  know 
Dr.  Cronin  is  alive.' 

"  '  How  do  you  know  that? ' 

"  'I  know  that  the  body  was  that  of  a  woman, 
and  thattronin  was  not  connected  with  that  trunk, 
and  —  and  —  well,  that's  why  I  am  sure  he  is  alive. ' 

"  Woodruff  says  he  has  not  told  all  he  knows 
about  the  three  men,  and  will  not  until  his  father 
and  brother  arrive,  to  bail  him  out.  He  pays  a 
tardy  tribute  to  the  judgment  the  officers  gave  sev- 
eral days  ago.  Woodruff  gives  the  following  facts 
about  his  own  history: 

"  '  I  went  to  school  three  years  at  Woodstock, 
Canada.  I  also  attended  the  Dundas  College  in 
1875  and  1876.  I  was  a  pupil  in  the  Komoka 
school,  and  studied  at  Fentonville,  Mich.,  fifty 
miles  from  Detroit,  for  a  short  time.  In  1878  I 
was  a  freight  brakeman  on  the  Hamilton  and 
Ontario  Railroad.'  " 


THE   MYSTERIOUS   WOMAN  79 

CHAPTER  X. 

THE   MYSTERIOUS   WOMAN. 

As  I  LAY  in  my  bed  that  night  thinking  over  the 
events  that  had  come  to  my  knowledge  during  the 
course  of  my  investigations,  I  summed  them  up  as 
follows: 

On  Saturday  afternoon,  May  4th,  a  strange  man 
with  a  repulsive  countenance  had  engaged  me  to 
watch  his  wife,  whom  he  believed  untrue. 

Saturday  night  I  shadowed  the  woman,  and  saw 
the  white  horse.  I  saw  the  woman  meet  a  man,  go 
with  him  into  a  disreputable  house,  and  then,  after 
an  elapse  of  twenty  or  thirty  minutes,  followed  her 
home. 

That  same  night  Dr.  Cronin  disappeared. 

On  Monday  I  began  to  investigate,  finding  out 
but  little. 

Tuesday  I  met  my  man  the  second  time;  he  gave 
me  some  strange  information  regarding  his  wife. 

Wednesday  I  left  the  city,  first  ascertaining 
from  him,  that  he  had  been  formerly  connected 
with  the  railway  service.  Thursday,  May  nth,  I 
was  in  Toronto,  and  saw  the  woman  talking  with  a 
man,  who,  I  believe,  was  Long.  The  same  day 
dispatches  were  received  in  Chicago,  stating  that 
Dr.  Cronin  had  been  seen  alive  there.  This  story 
was  now  almost  known  to  have  been  a  fabrication. 
Could  this  woman  and  her  husband  have  been 
connected  in  any  way  with  a  plot  to  dispose  of  the 
doctor?  and  could  they  be  trying  to  use  me,  to 


80  THE   GREAT   CRONIN   MYSTERY 

throw  suspicion  from  off  themselves?  hardly.  The 
man  had  given  me  my  information  and  supplied 
me  with  money  to  carry  on  my  investigation.  Still, 
I  could  not  drive  the  fact  from  my  mind,  that  a 
"  prominent"  railroad  official  had  given  some  infor- 
mation to  the  papers,  in  which  it  was  said  that 
Dr.  Cronin  had  been  seen  by  him,  only  a  few 
days  ago.  His  admission  that  he  had  been  in  the 
railroad  business,  brought  it  to  my  mind.  And 
then,  the  woman.  The  lady  who  had  been  with 
Dr.  Cronin,  came  from  Buffalo;  the  lady  who  had 
registered  at  the  Rossin  House  also  came  from 
Buffalo. 

What  was  there  in  it?  I  could  not  tell.  I  did 
not  trust  my  man  in  Chicago,  any  more  than  I  did 
his  wife,  but  I  could  not  see  through  their  little 
game,  even  if  they  had  one.  One  seemed  to  be 
working  against  the  other. 

I  determined  to  leave  the  Canadian  city  in 
the  morning,  and  this  time  I  made  no  mistake.  I 
did  not  oversleep  myself.  I  arrived  at  the  depot, 
and  walked  up  to  the  ticket  office,  and  there  I  stuck; 
I  wanted  to  follow  the  woman,,  and  I  had  not  the 
slightest  idea  where  she  had  gone. 

"  Where  to,  sir?  "  inquired  the  clerk  at  the  win- 
dow. 

"  Hamilton,"!  replied,  desperately.  I  was  grop- 
ing in  the  dark,  but  I  hoped  to  be  able  to  see  light 
before  long. 

I  took  up  my  ticket  and  entered  the  cars. 

Hamilton  was  reached  all  right,  and  I  went  to  the 
hotel.  Luck  was  with  me.  As  the  carriage  drove 


8i 

up  to  the  door  of  the  hotel,  I  glanced  along  the 
front  of  the  house.  I  saw  a  balcony  extending 
along  a  portion  of  the  front,  and,  sitting  upon  it, 
in  an  easy-chair,  reading,  I  saw  the  woman  I  wanted 
to  see!  I  congratulated  myself,  and,  walking  into 
the  office,  registered.  A  few  remarks  about  the 
weather  and  some  other  every-day  topics,  and  I 
glanced  through  the  register  for  a  week  back.  I 
found  Mrs.  Brown,  of  Buffalo,  registered  but  only 
the  day  before.  She  had  only  been  in  Hamilton 
twenty-four  hours.  Where  had  she  been  during  the 
last  three  or  four  days? 

I  saw  that  she  was  occupying  room  No.  24. 
Luck  again!  My  room  was  22,  right  next  door, 
providing  that  the  rooms  were  numbered  here,  as 
they  usually  are  in  hotels  —  the  even  numbers  on 
one  side  of  the  hall,  the  odd  numbers  on  the  other. 

"  Have  you  a  trunk,  sir,"  inquired  the  clerk?  " 

I  replied  in  the  negative. 

"  I  wouldn't  be  bothered  with  a  trunk,"  I  re- 
marked. "  I  never  carry  anything  but  a  grip." 

I  strolled  out  upon  the  sidewalk.  My  lady  had 
not  changed  her  position.  She  was  intent  on  read- 
ing one  of  the  last  new  novels.  I  could  see  the 
title  on  the  cover.  It  was  "  Almeda,"  a  book  that 
was  attracting  some  attention.  She  was  deeply 
interested.  For  the  first  time  I  had  an  opportunity 
to  study  her  face  well.  Not  an  unhandsome  coun- 
tenance, not  strictly  beautiful,  either —  a  face  that 
would  attract  attention  anywhere.  Her  eyes  were 
large  and  soulful,  her  mouth  indicated  determina- 

Cronin  Mystery  6 


82  THE   GREAT   CRONIN   MYSTERY 

tion  and  firmness.  I  was  watching  her  closely, 
reading  her,  when  she  looked  up  and  saw  my  gaze 
fixed  upon  her. 

Did  I  imagine  it,  or  did  she  turn  pale!  At  any 
rate,  she  arose  from  her  chair,  and  went  off  the 
balcony. 

I  strolled  down  the  street. 

I  did  not  see  her  again  until  supper  time,  then  to 
my  secret  satisfaction.  I  was  given  a  seat  at  the 
same  table  she  occupied.  She  did  not  seem  to 
notice  me  at  all,  however,  at  first;  but  before  the 
meal  was  over,  we  were  chatting  quite  freely.  It 
all  came  about  in  this  way.  The  waiter  carelessly 
spilled  a  cup  of  tea  on  my  coat.  Naturally  I  felt 
put  out  about  it. 

"  Confounded  clumsy  dolt,"  I  muttered. 

"  Waiters  are  so  careless, "  the  lady  observed,  with 
a  quiet  smile.  I  made  some  remark.  She 
answered  me.  And  so,  before  I  knew  it,  I  was  on 
terms  of  good  friendship  with  the  woman.  She 
invited  me  up  into  the  parlor  to  hear  her  play  upon 
the  piano. 

"  It  is  so  dull  here,"  she  said,  with  such  a  bored 
look  upon  her  face.  "  I  really  feel  thankful  that 
there  is  some  one  here  with  whom  I  can  pass  a  few 
pleasant  hours." 

I  responded  that  I  was  more  than  pleased  to  have 
met  her  (I  was  in  fact),  and  would  do  anything 
in  my  power  to  amuse,  instruct  or  interest  her. 

"  You  are  very  kind,"  she  murmured,  looking  up 
in  my  face  with  a  swift  glance.  "  Sit  down.  I 
will  try  to  amuse  you  first." 


THE    MYSTERIOUS   WOMAN  83 

I  sat  down.  She  took  her  position  at  the  piano, 
and  ran  over  several  pieces  of  music  in  succession. 
She  was  a  finished  musician.  I  came  to  that  con- 
clusion after  hearing  her  strike  a  few  notes. 

For  two  hours  I  sat,  drinking  in  the  music  of 
the  musical  instrument,  and  her  voice  (for  she  sang 
several  songs),  and  then,  excusing  myself,  I  went 
to  my  room. 

I  caught  the  reflection  of  my  face  in  the  glass  as 
I  returned.  It  was  self  satisfied,  jubilant.  I  sat 
down  on  the  edge  of  the  bed,  and  pulled  off  my 
boots. 

"  She  has  no  suspicion,"  I  muttered.  "  I  will 
have  no  trouble  whatever  in  getting  to  the  bottom 
of  the  mystery  surrounding  her." 

In  ten  minutes  I  was  asleep.  I  don't  know  what 
woke  me.  I  do  know  that  I  came  to  consciousness 
with  a  start,  and  sat  upright  in  bed. 

I  dislike  to  have  a  lamp  burning  in  my  room  all 
night;  it  invariably  gives  me  a  headache;  so  I  had 
blown  out  my  light,  and  the  room  was  in  a  com- 
parative state  of  darkness,  but  it  was  not  so  dark 
but  what  I  could  see  a  white-robed  figure  standing 
near  the  door. 

"  What  do  you  want?  "  I  demanded. 

No  reply. 

"  Speak,  or  I'll  fire,  "  I  cried. 

A  faint  cry,  and  the  figure  fell  forward. 

Leaping  out  of  bed,  I  slipped  on  my  nether 
garments,  and  lighted  my  lamp. 

The  figure  upon  the  floor  proved  to  be  that  of 


84  THE   GREAT   CRONIN   MYSTERY 

my  charming  companion  of  the  early  evening,  and 
she  was,  or  seemed  to  be,  unconscious. 

I  seized  the  water  pitcher  and  threw  its  con- 
tents in  her  face;  rather  vigorous  treatment,  but 
I  wished  to  bring  her  to,  if  she  had  really  fainted, 
and,  if  she  was  shamming,  I  wished  to  punish  her. 
It  had  the  desired  effect.  She  sat  up;  the  water 
dripping  from  her  long  black  hair,  a  look  of  anger 
upon  her  face. 

"  Pardon  me  if  I  have  been  too  severe,"  I 
muttered.  "  I  was  alarmed,  and  acted  upon  the 
impulse  of  the  moment." 

"  It  does  not  matter,"  she  replied,  coldly;  "  you 
have  literally  drenched  me  to  the  skin. " 

"  I  am  so  sorry!  " 

She  looked  as  if  she  did  not  believe  me. 

"  Your  appearance  in  my  room  startled  me,"  I 
observed. 

"  I  am  a  somnambulist,"  she  replied. 

"  Ah!  "  Not  a  very  long  sentence,  but  it  some- 
times expresses  much.  It  did  in  this  case. 

"  If  you  will  turn  down  your  light,  I  will  leave 
you,"  she  said.  I  turned  down  the  light.  She 
left  me! 

I  found,  after  she  had  gone,  that  my  door  was  not 
locked.  Probably  I  had  forgotten  it.  A  very 
careless  thing  for  a  man  like  me  to  do.  I  made 
sure  that  it  was  fast  before  I  extinguished  my  lamp 
for  the  second  time,  and  I  crept  into  bed.  I  lay 
awake  for  some  time,  wondering  whether  the  woman 
had  lied  when  she  said  she  was  a  somnambulist.  I 


THE   MYSTERIOUS   WOMAN  85 

was  inclined  to  think  that  she  had.  If  so, — 
why  ? 

What  object  could  she  have  had  in  coming  into 
my  room?  I  fell  asleep  thinking  of  it. 

I  awoke  with  a  terrible  headache.  Some  one 
was  battering  away  at  my  door;  I  crept  out  of  bed 
and  opened  it.  The  clerk  stood  in  the  hall  with 
the  porter.  He  breathed  a  sigh  of  relief  as  he 
saw  my  face. 

"  I'm  glad  you're  alive,"  he  said;  "  I've  been 
hammering  on  that  door  for  ten  minutes;  the  porter 
has  called  you  six  or  seven  times,  but  received  no 
answer.  My,  but  you're  a  hard  sleeper!  " 

I  replied  that  I  was  usually  a  very  light  sleeper. 
The  clerk  smiled  at  the  statement. 

"  Have  you  any  idea  what  time  it  is?  "  he  asked. 

I  replied  that  I  had  not,  and  furthermore  that  I 
did  not  care.  "  I  want  to  sleep,"  I  said,  sullenly; 
"  I  don't  care  for  any  breakfast." 

He  burst  out  laughing. 

"  Breakfast,"  he  cried;  "  you  will  not  eat  break- 
fast or  dinner  this  day." 

I  ran  to  my  vest,  which  was  under  my  pillow, 
and  looked  at  my  watch.  I  sat  dumbfounded;  it 
was  nearly  half-past  three.  I  could  not  under- 
stand it. 

"  I  guess  you're  right,"  I  said,  with  a  smile,  to  the 
clerk;  "  if  I  don't  get  up  pretty  soon,  I'll  miss  my 
supper  as  well." 

He  left  me. 

With  my  aching  head  in  my  hands,  I  sat  and 
tried  to  collect  my  thoughts.  I  could  not  do  so  to 


86        THE  GREAT  CRONIN  MYSTERY 

save  me;  I  dressed  and  went  down  into  the  street. 

The  clerk  smiled  as  I  entered. 

"  Got  down,  Eli!  "  he  cried. 

"  Yes,"  I  muttered;  "  and,  oh,  what  a  headache 
I  have." 

"  Too  bad,"  he  observed,  with  a  wink;  "  too 
much  beauty  last  night  in  the  parlor;  the  fascinat- 
ing Mrs.  Brown  intoxicated  you  with  her  beauty  and 
loveliness." 

I  flushed  angrily  at  the  mocking  tone  he  had 
adopted.  I  was  about  to  make  use  of  some  sting- 
ing rebuke,  when  he  continued: 

"  You'll  be  all  right  to-night,"  he  said;  "  she  left 
on  the  morning  train." 

I  forgot  my  headache,  forgot  everything. 

"  Left  this  morning!  "  I  cried. 

He  seemed  surprised  at  my  excitement. 

"  Why,  yes,"  he  replied;  "  nothing  strange  in 
that,  is  there?" 

I  recovered  my  equanimity.  It  was  not  policy 
to  show  any  excitement  before  the  fellow. 

"  No;  nothing  strange,"  I  remarked:  "  only  it 
surprised  me  a  little,"  and,  purchasing  a  cigar,  I 
walked  out  of  the  house. 

So  she  had  eluded  me  again.  Her  friendship  of 
the  preceding  night  had  been  assumed  for  a  pur- 
pose, the  purpose  of  deceiving  me,  and  I  thought 
myself  so  smart. 

I  censured  myself.  I  had  no  business  to  give  in 
to  this  woman's  witchery.  Still,  I  had  one  conso- 
lation; I  was  not  the  first  man  who  had  been  fooled 
by  a  woman.  No;  nor  the  last  one,  either. 


THE   MYSTERIOUS   WOMAN  8/ 

I  began  to  understand  why  she  had  come  into 
my  room  the  night  before.  My  headache  was  ex- 
plained; my  long  sleep  also. 

She  had  anaesthetized  me  through  the  key-hole 
while  I  slept;  her  first  visit  had  been  for  the  same 
purpose. 

"Clever  woman,"  I  muttered;  "but  I'll  fool 
you  yet.  You  think  I  am  a  poor  dupe,  but  you'll 
find  yourself  sadly  mistaken." 

I  returned  to  the  hotel,  paid  my  bill,  and  left 
Hamilton  on  the  next  train.  At  the  depot  I  found 
out  that  Mrs.  Brown  had  purchased  a  ticket  for 
Buffalo,  New  York.  I  bought  one  for  the  same 
place.  I  was  determined  to  keep  track  of  her  if 
possible.  I  never  got  off  the  train  at  Buffalo.  I 
was  carried  from  one  train  to  another  when  that 
city  was  reached,  and  the  other  train  was  going  to 
Chicago.  Why  did  I  give  up  the  chase?  For  the 
very  good  reason  that  I  was  compelled  to  do  so. 
A  stroke  of  paralysis,  slight,  but  sufficient  to  lay 
me  up  for  two  weeks,  came  upon  me  at  Suspension 
Bridge.  A  doctor,  who  was  on  the  train,  advised 
me  to  get  home  as  soon  as  possible.  I  took  his 
advice,  and  went  home.  The  stroke  came  from  the 
effects  of  Mrs.  Brown's  terrible  dose  of  chloroform. 


THE  GREAT  CRONIN  MYSTERY 

CHAPTER  XI. 

DISCOVERY  OF  THE  BODY. 

FOR  the  next  ten  days  I  was  unable  to  leave 
my  bed.  How  I  fretted  and  fumed,  turned  and 
twisted.  But  I  got  up  at  last,  and  that  which 
worked  my  cure  proved  also  that  I  had  been  right 
in  my  theories  when  I  had  said  that  Dr.  Croninwas 
murdered;  namely,  the  discovery  of  his  body. 

As  I  rapidly  ran  over  the  account  of  the  finding 
of  the  body,  as  published  in  the  Times,  there  came 
vividly  to  me  many  peculiar  things  in  connection 
with  the  case  which  caused  me  to  wonder  why  the 
police  had  not  long  before  this  arrested  certain  par- 
ties who  seemed  to  know  so  much  about  it.  Per- 
haps they  were  waiting.  "  They'll  have  a  chance 
now,"  I  muttered.  I  spread  out  the  paper  and 
read  the  freshly  discovered  facts  to  my  wife.  She 
takes  great  interest  in  all  matters  appertaining  to 
my  business. 

The  following  is  the  Times  account  of  the  finding 
of  the  body: 

Dr.  P.  H.  Cronin  was  murdered!  His  body 
was  found  yesterday  afternoon  stark  naked  with  the 
head  a  mass  of  horrible  wounds,  any  one  of  which 
might  produce  death.  At  least  fifty  of  his  friends 
have  seen  and  identified  the  body.  The  identifica- 
tion is  undoubtedly  complete,  and  there  now  remains 
no  doubt  of  the  fate  that  befell  him. 

The  body  was  found  in  a  catch-basin  at  the 
southeast  corner  of  Evanston  road  and  Fifty-ninth 


DISCOVERY   OF  THE  BODY 


89 


streets,  Lake  View,  where  it  had  been  hidden  by 
the  murderers  or  their  accomplices.  The  discovery 
was  made  accidentally  by  a  gang  of  ditch-cleaners. 
Henry  Rosch,  John  Feningar  and  William  Nichols, 
employes  of  the  Lake  View  Department  of  Public 
Works,  were  engaged  in  cleaning  the  ditches  and 
examining  the  catch-basins.  About  four  o'clock 
they  arrived  at  the  corner  of  Fifty-ninth  street  and 
Evanston  road.  Rosch  crossed  over  from  the 
north  to  the  south  side  of  the  street,  where  he  began 
shoveling  out  the  sand  in  the  ditch  near  the  catch- 
basin. 

When  within  a  few  feet  of  the  basin  he  detected 
the  odor  of  a  dead  body,  and  called  out  to  his 
assistants:  ""I  guess  there's  a  dead  dog  here."  He 
got  down  on  his  knees  and  looked  into  the  catch- 
basin  through  the  iron  bars  at  the  side.  Whathe  saw 
made  him  recoil  with  horror.  There,  wedged  down 
into  the  narrow  catch-basin,  was  the  body  of  a  man 
partly  screened  from  view  by  a  lot  of  cotton  bat- 
ting that  had  been  thrown  over  it.  He  called  his 
two  assistants,  who  merely  glanced  at  the  body  and 
retreated. 

Rosch  told  the  men  to  stay  there,  and  at  once  ran 
to  Argyle  Park  Station,  nearly  a  mile  distant, 
where  he  telephoned  to  the  Lake  View  Police  Sta- 
tion a  hasty  account  of  his  discovery.  It  was  ex- 
actly 4:24  o'clock  when  the  telephone  summons  was 
received  at  the  station. 

The  patrol  wagon,  with  Capt.  Wing  himself  in 
charge,  hastened  to  the  spot.  Upon  arriving  there 
the  officers  removed  the  top  of  the  catch-basin. 


90  THE    GREAT   CRONIN   MYSTERY 

The  body  was  then  clearly  brought  to  view.  It  was 
floating,  face  downward,  in  about  two  feet  of  water. 
The  body  was  doubled  up  almost  like  a  partly 
opened  jack-knife.  It  was  immediately  taken  from 
the  hole,  wrapped  in  a  blanket,  and  taken  to  the 
Lake  View  Police  Station,  where  it  now  is. 

Henry  Rosch,  the  man  who  found  the  body, 
says:  "  We  had  been  working  on  the  north  side 
of  the  street  for  half  an  hour.  When  I  crossed  the 
street  I  observed  an  odor.  The  catch-basin  has  a 
number  of  iron  rods  on  the  side;  the  bottom 
of  the  rods  is  about  even  with  the  ditch.  In 
order  to  see  in,  I  had  to  get  down  on  my  knees. 
There  is  about  two  feet  of  water  in  the  basin.  The 
catch-basin  is  really  a  well  six  feet  deep  and  about 
four  feet  across.  On  the  top  of  the  basin  is  a 
wooden  frame  about  two  feet  square.  This  is 
covered  with  a  wooden  lid.  In  order  to  get  the 
lid  open  we  had  to  pry  it  open  with  a  pick.  Every- 
thing shows  plainly  that  that  the  lid  was  taken  off 
of  the  basin  with  some  tool  or  pry.  The  body  was 
then  put  in  head  first,  and  the  cotton  thrown  in 
afterward.  The  cotton  was  next  to  the  grating,  and 
may  have  been  crowded  in  from  the  outside  after 
the  body  was  hidden.  I  tell  you  I  was  scared.  I 
ran  to  the  Argyle  Park  Station,  and  telephoned  to 
the  police,  who  came  with  a  wagon." 

The  body  was  taken  to  the  little  morgue  con- 
nected with  the  Lake  View  Police  Station,  and  laid 
on  one  of  the  zinc  slabs.  When  the  blanket  in 
which  it  was  wrapped  by  the  officers  was  removed, 
uearly  all  of  the  mustache  and  a  large  portion  of  the 


DISCOVERY   OF   THE   BODY  91 

hair  on  the  head  adhered  to  it.  This  accident 
made  the  identification  more  difficult,  although  it 
did  not  prevent  it  from  being  made  complete. 

Word  was  at  once  sent  to  the  city  authorities 
and  friends  of  Dr.  Cronin. 

The  news  of  the  discovery  soon  spread  all  over 
Lake  View,  and  soon  the  station  was  filled  with  a 
curious  crowd  of  morbid  sight-seers.  The  side- 
walk was  blocked  with  men  and  boys,  the  mob 
crowded  and  pushed  its  way  into  the  station,  and 
in  a  short  time  the  big  policeman  at  the  head  of 
the  stairs  leading  down  to  the  morgue  had  great 
difficulty  in  keeping  the  crowd  from  rushing  down 
pell-mell. 

The  body  was  entirely  naked  with  the  exception 
of  a  blood-soaked  towel  that  had  been  twisted 
around  the  throat.  An  Agnus  Dei  was  suspended 
from  his  neck  by  a  leather  string.  Decomposition 
had  begun,  but  had  not  progressed  to  such  a  stage 
that  recognition  was  impossible.  The  body  was 
badly  bloated,  and  the  outer  skin  had  sloughed 
away,  leaving  the  body  quite  white.  The  lower 
portion  of  the  face  was  so  swollen  that  the  chin 
and  the  chest  met,  all  evidences  of  a  neck  having 
vanished. 

The  most  hideous  and  ghastly  portion  of  the 
body  was  the  head.  Here  the  heavy  bruises  and 
great,  gaping  wounds  bore  overpowering  evidence 
of  horrible  murder  and  desperate  assassination. 
All  of  the  long  mustache  worn  by  Dr.  Cronin  was 
gone,  save  a  tuft  at  the  left  corner  of  the  mouth. 
The  bruised  and  broken  forehead  was  hairless 


92  THE  GREAT   CRONIN   MYSTERY 

nearly  to  the  crown  of  the  head.  The  swollen 
cheeks  made  the  nose  almost  diminutive,  but  had 
exaggerated  the  size  of  the  mouth  until  it  no  longer 
bore  human  semblance. 

There  were  seven  horrible  wounds  on  the  head, 
apparently  inflicted  with  a  hatchet,  or  some  similar 
weapon.  Dr.  J.  R.  Brandt,  of  the  County  Hospi- 
tal, made  a  careful  examination  of  the  wounds. 
He  describes  the  wounds  as  follows: 

A  wound  on  the  left  temple,  at  the  corner  of  the 
left  eye,  one  and  one-half  inches  long.  This  wound 
crushed  the  skull,  and  may  have  caused  instant 
death.  A  wound,  one  and  one-half  inches  long, 
cut  to  the  skull  on  the  left  parietal  bone,  and  ex- 
tending to  the  frontal  bone.  A  wound,  also  cut 
to  the  skull,  three  inches  in  length,  on  the  occipital 
bone,  at  its  juncture  with  the  parietal  bone.  A 
cut  over  the  occipital  bone  four  inches  long.  A  cut 
over  the  right  parietal  bone  two  inches  in  length. 
A  heavy  contusion  on  the  frontal  bone,  near  the 
edge  of  the  hair.  A  bruise  on  the  right  leg  near 
the  knee. 

In  plain  language  the  skull  was  crushed  at  the 
outer  corner  of  the  left  eye;  there  was  a  big  dent 
in  the  forehead;  a  cut  nearly  two  inches  long  on 
the  top  of  the  head;  a  cut  over  two  inches  long 
midway  between  the  left  ear  and  the  top  of  the 
head;  another  cut  joining  this  at  the  lower  end  and 
extending  toward  the  left  temple  for  two  inches;  a 
huge  cut  nearly  four  inches  long  On  the  back  of 
the  head,  extending  nearly  from  ear  to  ear,  and  a 
gash  under  the  chin. 


DISCOVERY  OF  THE  BODY  93 

The  little  morgue  was  crowded  with  men  when 
Dr.  Brandt  made  the  examination.  The  water  on 
the  floor  was  nearly  an  inch  deep.  A  long,  per- 
forated pipe  extended  the  length  of  the  slab,  and 
tiny  streams  ran  over  the  body  and  down  on  the 
floor.  The  dropping  of  the  water  was  the  only 
sound  heard  in  the  room. 

"  These  cuts,"  said  Dr.  Brandt,  "  were  made 
with  a  hatchet,  I  believe.  They  did  not  break  the 
skull,  but  cut  to  it.  Any  one  of  them  would  knock 
a  man  insensible  and  might  result  in  death.  The 
wound  near  the  left  eye  would  cause  death  almost  at 
once,  for  the  temple  is  crushed  in.  None  of  these 
wounds,  so  far  as  I  can  now  judge,  was  after  death, 
The  man  must  have  made  a  noble  fight." 

No  mere  pen-picture  can  convey  an  adequate 
idea  of  the  trembling,  agitated,  intense  silence  — 
the  silence  of  overwrought  suspense  —  that  was 
preserved  while  Dr.  Brandt  made  his  examination 
and  gave  his  opinion.  It  was  something  like  the 
silence  that  might  follow  the  engulfing  of  half  a 
city  by  an  earthquake  before  those  who  escaped 
realized  the  awfulness  of  the  calamity.  There 
were  white  and  set  faces  there,  and  muscles  stood 
out  on  men's  jaws  as  teeth  were  clenched  with 
emotion. 

"  I  want  to  say,"  continued  Dr.  Brandt,  as  he 
washed  his  hands  in  the  streams  from  the  pipe  over 
the  body,  "  I  want  to  say  that  I  have  made  an 
examination  of  the  hair  from  this  body.  I  am 
prepared  to  swear  and  to  prove  that  it  is  identical 
with  the  hair  found  in  the  trunk." 


94  THE   GREAT   CRONIN   MYSTERY 

John  F.  Scanlan  was  sent  for  and  soon  arrived. 
He  walked  into  the  morgue  and  stood  looking  at 
the  body  of  his  murdered  friend.  He  did  not  say 
a  word,  but  a  set  look  was  seen  about  his  jaws. 
For  fully  fifteen  minutes  he  surveyed  the  corpse, 
but  spoke  not.  The  right  hand  was  picked  up  from 
its  position  at  the  side  of  the  body,  and  laid  across 
the  swollen  breast.  The  right  hand  was  the  only 
portion  of  the  body  that  preserved  a  perfectly  life- 
like appearance.  The  silence  was  not  broken  by 
the  spectators,  but  all  waited  for  Mr.  Scanlan  to 
conclude  his  scrutiny.  Finally  he  raised  his 
blanched  face,  and,  in  a  trembling  voice,  said: 

"  It  is  Dr.  Cronin'sbody.  The  hand  I  will  swear 
to.  The  doctor  was  a  very  hairy  man,  especially 
about  the  wrists;  so  was  this  man.  The  goatee  on 
the  lower  lip  does  more  than  resemble  Dr.  Cronin's; 
it  is  exactly  like  it.  The  long  hair  of  this  mustache 
is  like  his;  so  is  the  long  hair  left  on  the  head. 
The  size  and  shape  of  the  body  are  his.  The  fore- 
head is  his;  the  teeth  are  his;  the  nose,  after  I 
raise  the  nostrils  thus  with  a  lead-pencil,  is  his. 
The  body  is  that  of  Dr.  Cronin.  He  was  taken 
into  a  room,  stable,  or  ice  house,  and  there  killed. 
The  Agnus  Dei  is  the  one  he  had  around  his  neck." 

Mr.  Conklin  was  sent  for,  but,  before  he  came, 
others  who  knew  Dr.  Cronin  well  in  life  examined 
the  body. 

Dr.  F.  S.  Siber,  of  Lake  View,  who  is  a  member 
of  the  Royal  League,  and  who  knew  Dr.  Cronin 
well,  identified  the  body. 

F.  O.  Parker,  an  insurance  agent  at  Lake  View, 


DISCOVERY   OF  THE   BODY  95 

and  F.    Huxman,  a  dentist,  also  pronounced  the 
body  as  that  of  Dr.  Cronin. 

Henry  J.  O'Hara,  of.^^&uperior  street,  and  Mr. 
Fitzgerald,  of  the  .fielmontvliouse,  Lake  View,  cdn- 
T  firmed  the  previous  decisions. 

F..-O.  Parker,  a  real-estate  dealer,  whose  office 
joins  that  used  by  Dr.  Cronin  in  the  Opera  House 
block,  readily  pronounced  the  remains  those  of  the 
doctor'. 

Dr.  Parker,  of  Lake  View,  said  the  body  was 
that  of  a  man  who  had  been  dead  between  two 
and  three  weeks. 

By  this  time  the  news  of  the  identification  of  the 
body  had  reached  the  street,  and  the  crowd  out- 
side steadily  increased.  The  officer  at  the  head  of 
the  stairs  took  off  his  coat  and  fought  the  crowd 
back.  Everybody  wanted  to  rush  in  and  see  the 
body.  Captain  Wing  gave  orders  to  admit  no  one 
but  very  intimate  friends  of  Dr.  Cronin,  or  those 
who  had  business  there. 

While  the  crowd  was  the  thickest,   Mr.  Conklin 

came..     He  looked  at  the  Agnus  Dei  that  was  still 

V  suspended   by   a   string   around   the   neck  of  the 

^body,    and  said:     "  That   is   the    one   Dr.  Cronin  [ 

wo?e,  or  afac  simile  of  it,   string  and  all.",  ..Mr. 

Conklin"is  a  small  and  quite  delicate-lopking  -mari. 

The  nervous  strain  on  him  was  considerable,  and  he 

looked  like  a  man  about  to  faint.     He  said:     "  Dr. 

Cronin  had  a  tooth  or  two  out,  and  wore  a  plate." 

The  blanched  and  swollen  lips  were  raised,  and 
there  were  the  absent  teeth.  The  false  ones  and 
plate  were  missing.  Mr.  Conklin  identified  the 


96  THE   GREAT   CRONIN   MYSTERY 

hands,  wrists,  hair,  goatee,  nose,  and  other  feat- 
ures as  those  of  Dr.  Cronin.  As  he  turned  to  the 
door,  he  said:  "  There  is  no  longer  any  doubt. 
That  is  Dr.  Cronin's  body,  and  he  was  murdered. 
Mrs.  Conklin  can  identify  the  teeth,  perhaps,  bet- 
ter than  I  can;  but  she  cannot  come  here.  Dr. 
Lewis,  whose  office  is  at  the  corner  of  Clark  and 
Division  streets,  was  his  dentist,  and  can  describe 
the  teeth  fully. " 

Dr.  Rutherford,  who  was  associated  with  Dr. 
Cronin  when  the  latter  was  a  member  of  the  staff 
at  the  County  Hospital,  had  no  hesitancy  in  decid- 
ing the  body  was  that  of  the  missing  doctor.  Mr. 
McGary,  who  knew  the  doctor  well,  and  Captain 
O'Connor,  his  friend,  also  added  their  positive  iden- 
tification to  that  already  made. 

Two  of  the  visitors,  whose  opinions  were  consid- 
ered of  great  importance,  were  Frank  Scanlan,  the 
last  one  of  Dr.  Cronin's  friends  who  saw  him  alive, 
and  Hal  Buck,  the  barber  at  472  North  Clark  street. 
Mr.  Scanlan  identified  the  body,  but  went  further. 
He  said:  "  Dr.  Cronin  had  peculiar  teeth.  I  think 
two  were  missing.  His  heavy  mustache  came  over 
his  mouth  and  completely  hid  his  teeth,  but  I  have 
seen  them.  His  upper  teeth  were  large,  nearly  as 
wide  as  long,  and  had  a  space  between  them.  The 
teeth  on  the  under  jaw  were  small,  crowded  in  tight, 
and  stained  black  around  the  edges."  A  careful 
examination  of  the  teeth  showed  that  Mr.  Scanlan 
had  described  them  perfectly. 

Mr.  Buck,  the  barber,  said  :  "  The  goatee  is  Cro- 
nin's; the  hair  is  Cronin's;  the  mustache  is  Cronin's, 


Scanlan  and  Conklin  identifying  Dr.  Cronin's  body  at  the  morgue. 


Appearance  of  the  face  and  skull  of  Dr.  Cronin,  showing  the 
wounds  which  caused  his  death. 


DISCOVERY   OF   THE   BODY  97 

and  the  body  is  Cronin's.  It  is  not  generally  known 
that  Dr.  Cronin  had  his  mustache  dyed.  I  have 
shaved  him  daily  a  long  time,  and  used  to  dye  his 
mustache.  The  tuft  of  hair  left  of  his  mustache  still 
shows  the  dye.  There  is  no  mistake  about  it  —  the 
body  is  poor  Dr.  Cronin's." 

The  Catholic  charm  still  around  the  neck  of  the 
body  may  be  an  important  link  in  the  identification 
of  the  body.  Mr.  Conklin  says  it  was  sent  to  Dr. 
Cronin  by  his  sister,  who  is  in  a  convent.  The 
charm,  or  Agnus  Dei,  is  a  rather  peculiar  one, 
attached  to  a  leather  thong,  and  can  be  minutely 
described  by  his  sister  and  by  several  intimate 
friends. 

Messrs.  O'Keefe  and  Ahern,  the  tailors,  and 
friends  of  Dr.  Cronin,  were  among  the  visitors  who 
came  to  the  Lake  View  morgue.  They  readily 
added  their  testimony  to  that  already  given,  and 
measured  the  limbs.  They  have  Dr.  Cronin's 
measure  at  their  store,  and,  by  referring  to  it,  can 
tell  whether  the  length  of  the  legs  and  arms  corre- 
sponds with  his. 

Of  all  who  came  to  the  morgue  who  knew  Dr. 
Cronin  in  life,  there  was  not  one  who  failed  to 
identify  the  body.  Therefore  there  can  remain 
no  doubt  that  the  body  is  that  of  Dr.  Cronin. 

Evanston  avenue  and  Fifty-ninth  place  is  located 
nine-tenths  of  a  mile  north  of  the  spot  where  the 
trunk  was  found,  and  two  miles  from  Lake  View 
Police  Station.  Everything  around  the  place  is 
suggestive  of  quietness.  The  nearest  house  to  the 
Cronin  Mystery  f 


98        THE  GREAT  CRONIN  MYSTERY 

catch-basin  wherein  the  body  was  discovered  is 
that  of  Bristle's,  distant  one  hundred  yards  north, 
and  Argyle  Park  village  is  situated  close  to  the 
lake,  or  about  one  mile  southeast  from  Evanston 
avenue  and  Fifty-ninth  place. 

Evanston  road  is  smoothly  graded,  while  the 
cross  streets  are  in  bad  shape,  being  sandy  and 
having  the  appearance  of  road  newly  built.  The 
lots  in  the  immediate  vicinity  are  vacant,  and  cov- 
ered with  long  grass  and  shrubbery.  A  portion 
of  the  ground  at  the  northeast  corner  of  Evanston 
avenue  and  Fifty-ninth  place  is  utilized  as  a  small 
market  garden;  otherwise  there  are  no  evidences  of 
civilization. 

The  ditch  in  which  the  workmen  were  engaged 
is  a  narrow  and  shallow  affair,  through  which  the 
water  flowed  sluggishly.  Except  in  case  of  rain 
the  flow  of  water  could  not  reach  the  catch -basins 
at  that  point,  and  men  were  sent  out  to  dig  deeper 
ditches,  so  as  to  permit  an  easy  flow.  At  the  foot 
of  the  basins  are  iron  gratings,  each  having  five 
rods,  and  it  was  not  until  Rosch  and  his  two  assist- 
ants had  dug  their  way  to  one  of  these  that  the 
strange  stench  was  noticed.  The  basins  are  sub- 
stantially built  of  masonry,  and  are  capped  with 
boards.  On  the  top  there  is  a  square  opening,  or 
man-hole.  The  lids  are  hinged,  and  are  quite 
heavy.  Inside  the  basin  everything  is  extremely 
forbidding  —  blackness,  dampness,  and  dirty,  ill- 
smelling  water  being  the  main  features.  Nobody 
would  think  for  a  moment  of  lifting  the  lid  and 
exploring  the  damp  recesses  of  such  a  clammy 


DISCOVERY   OF  THE  BODY  99 

dug-out,  and,  had  it  not  been  for  the  fact  that  the 
road-repairers  thought  they  had  discovered  a  dead 
dog,  they  would  have  been  satsfied  with  cleaning 
the  basin  by  poking  through  the  iron  grating. 

A  dozen  bunches  of  cotton  batting  which  had 
been  removed  from  the  basin  were  scattered  about 
the  neighborhood,  and  were  regarded  with  con- 
siderable awe  by  passers-by  and  others  whose 
business  took  them  past  the  spot.  A  half-dozen 
curiously  inclined  folks  made  excursions  into  the 
bush  and  fields,  hoping  to  run  across  other  evidences 
of  a  tragedy,  but  their  searches  were  fruitless. 

One  excited  young  man  argued  that  Dr.  Cro- 
nin's  clothing  and  case  of  surgical  instruments  had 
surely  been  secreted  in  'the  fastnesses  of  the  sur- 
rounding jungles,  or  else  in  one  of  the  numerous 
catch-basins  which  have  been  constructed  within  a 
half  a  mile  of  the  spot  where  the  body  was  found. 
Every  likely  spot  was  carefully  examined,  but  not 
a  trace  of  anything  could  be  found,  not  even  a 
bloody  smock  or  a  stray  lance,  and  it  was  con- 
cluded that,  if  such  things  existed,  they  were  hidden 
by  the  murderers  in  a  more  secure  spot  than  was 
their  unfortunate  victim. 

A  three-seated  carriage  containing  a  party  of 
ladies  drew  up  to  the  spot  while  a  dozen  reporters 
and  artists  were  making  an  examination  of  the 
surroundings.  One  of  them  inquired  the  cause  of 
the  excitement,  and,  on  being  shown  a  wad  of 
bloody  batting  and  the  opening  in  the  treacherous 
basin  through  which  Dr.  Cronin's  body  was  bun- 
dled to  its  murky  resting-place,  threw  up  her  hands 


100  THE   GREAT   CRONIN   MYSTERY 

in  holy  horror.  She  did  not  evince  a  yearning  for 
further  knowledge,  and,  with  a  suppressed  cry, 
urged  her  horses  southward. 

Among  other  wayfarers,  were  two  women  who 
were  walking  to  their  homes  from  the  city.  When 
within  a  few  yards  of  the  place,  they  were  told  of 
what  had  happened.  The  timid  creatures  immedi- 
ately turned  back  toward  the  city,  but  were  over- 
taken, and  were  with  difficulty  induced  to  return. 
They  were  piloted  past  the  objectionable  point, 
however;  butthey  had  no  sooner  got  their  backs  to 
it  than  they  ran  off  at  a  lively  run  and  were  soon 
out  of  sight. 

Dusk  was  approaching,  and  the  quietness  of  the 
place,  together  with  the  weird  features  of  the 
scene  —  the  opened  man-hole,  the  blood-stained 
bunches  of  batting,  and  the  thoughts  of  a  dark 
tragedy — impressed  everybody  that  it  was  no 
wonder  that  men  and  women  grew  faint  and  hur- 
ried themselves  off. 

Lonesome  and  unfrequented,  and  almost  sur- 
rounded with  cemeteries.  Such  was  the  place  in 
which  was  stowed  away  the  body  of  a  murdered 
man.  No  better  spot  could  have  been  found 
unless  possibly  the  middle  of  the  lake,  but  the  per- 
son or  persons  who  had  a  hand  in  the  cowardly 
occurrence  did  not  take  into  consideration  the  fact 
that  even  man-holes  and  catch-basins  and  sewers 
are  sometimes  pried  into  and  their  contents  turned 
over 


VARIOUS   OPINIONS  IOI 

CHAPTER  XII. 

VARIOUS   OPINIONS. 

JOHN  F.  SCANLAN,  when  questioned  by  a  Times 
reporter,  appeared  to  be  afraid  to  declare  whom  he 
believed  to  be  the  murderer  or  murderers  of  Dr. 
Cronin. 

"  I  have  heard  of  the  rinding  of  Dr.  Cronin's 
body,  and  am  not  a  bit  surprised  to  hear  of  it,"  he 
said. 

"  Why  are  you  not  surprised?  " 

"  Because  I  believed  all  along  that  he  was  mur- 
dered, and  it  looks  now  as  though  I  was  pretty 
nearly  right." 

"  Whom  do  you  believe  to  be  guilty  of  the  crime?" 

"  Well,  I  cannot  say  now.  I  don't  want  to  put 
my  suspicions  and  beliefs  on  that  point  into  words." 

"  Can  you  not  give  a  general  idea  as  to  whom 
you  suspect?" 

"  Nothing  more  than  this:  I  believe  that  he  has 
been  done  away  with  by  enemies  among  the  Irish 
nationalists." 

"  Can  you  say  what  the  grounds  for  this  enmity 
for  Dr.  Cronin  was  among  certain  sections  of  the 
Irish  national  societies?  " 

"  Not  definitely  just  now.  It's  several  years 
since  I  belonged  to  any  of  these  organizations,  and 
I  cannot  say  much  as  to  their  workings  of  late.  I 
believe  that  Cronin  had  information  in  his  posses- 
sion that  would  have  put  some  leading  local  lights 
in  the  Irish  organizations  in  a  bad  position,  and  ft 


102  THE   GREAT  CRONIN   MYSTERY 

was  to  the  interest  of  these  parties  to  have  Cronin's 
mouth  closed  forever. " 

"  Can  you  not  mention  the  names  of  any  of  these 
people?  " 

Mr.  Scanlan  shook  his  head  mysteriously.  "  Not 
now,"  he  said,  "  it  will  all  come  out  too  soon.  It 
would  have  been  out  long  ago,  and  these  people 
would  be  behind  the  bars  now  if  the  police  had 
done  their  duty." 

"  Well,  did  the  police  get  any  clews  from  you  or 
your  friends  as  to  the  guilty  parties?  " 

"Certainly." 

"  What  were  those  clues?  " 

Mr.  Scanlan  became  uncommunicative  again. 

"  Have  you  anything  to  say  now  that  will  throw 
light  upon  this  murder?" 

"  I  have,  but  I  will  not  put  my  suspicions  in 
words  now.  The  information  that  we  have  will  be 
placed  in  the  hands  of  the  coroner,  and  will  be 
brought  out  on  the  inquest.  When  it  is,  there  will 
be  many  arrests,  and  the  people  of  Chicago  will  be 
treated  to  a  bigger  hanging  match  than  there  was 
in  the  anarchist  case." 

"  The  only  difference,  I  suppose,  being  that  the 
victims  will  be  all  Irishmen?" 

"  I  don't  care  even  if  they  be  Irishmen;  if  they 
have  dabbled  their  hands  in  this  man's  blood,  as  I 
believe  they  have,  I  want  to  see  them  strung  up, 
even  though  we  have  to  break  up  every  Irish  organ- 
ization in  the  country  to  reach  the  guilty  ones." 

"  I  can  unravel  this  trunk  mystery  in  forty-eight 


VARIOUS   OPINIONS  103 

hours,  and,  when  you  clear  that  up,  you  clear  up  the 
Cronin  mystery." 

This  is  what  Frank  Woodruff,  or  Black,  as  he 
sometimes  calls  himself,  said  last  night  in  the  County 
Jail,  where  he  is  a  prisoner. 

When  he  came  from  his  cell  in  answer  to  the 
request  from  a  Times  reporter,  he  was  leisurely 
smoking  a  bad  cigar,  and  manifested  no  surprise 
that  he  should  be  sent  for.  He  was  told  that  the 
body  of  Dr.  Cronin  had  been  found. 

"  That  so?  "  he  answered,  somewhat  surprisedly. 
But  that  was  all.  Then  he  began  to  swing  his  long 
legs  in  a  lazy  sort  of  fashion,  as  if  to  say:  "  Well, 
what  of  it?  " 

"  Are  you  not  surprised?  " 

"  Oh,  I  might  be  at  first,  but  then,  you  see,  I  had 
already  been  told  of  it." 

"  What  do  you  think  of  affairs  now.  Can  you 
explain?  " 

"  I  might  explain,  but  I  have  found  out  that  the 
police  and  the  newspapers  think  me  a  liar,  so 
what's  the  use  in  further  talk?  " 

"  That  may  be,  but  now  that  the  dead  body  of 
Cronin  has  been  discovered,  why  not  explain  your 
statement  that  the  body  in  the  trunk  was  that  of  a 
woman,  and  that  Dr.  Cronin  was  at  the  barn  when 
you  got  the  trunk?  " 

"  I  think  now,  and  have  always  thought,  that  Dr. 
Cronin  committed  an  abortion  on  the  woman  in  the 
trunk,  and  that  he  was  the  most  anxious  person 
present  that  night  to  have,  the  body  disposed  of 
as  soon  as  possible." 


IO4  THE   GREAT   CRONIN  MYSTERY 

"  How  do  you  know  Cronin  was  at  the  barn? 
Did  you  know  him?" 

"  No;  but  his  being  called  Doc,  and  the  descrip- 
tion I  afterward  learned  of  the  doctor,  convinces  me 
that  the  man  was  Cronin. " 

"  Then,  why  should  he  be  killed  and  in  all  prob- 
ability on  the  same  night  that  you  hauled  the 
trunk  away?  " 

"  Don't  you  think  that  the  girl  Allie,  as  the  men 
King  and  Fairburn  called  the  body  in  the  trunk, 
had  friends  or  relatives  anxious  to  avenge  her 
death?  "  answered  the  prisoner,  in  a  cunning  way, 
as  he  looked  searchingly  at  his  questioner. 

"  Then  Dr.  Cronin  must  have  followed  you  and 
the  two  men  out  to  Lincoln  Park,  and  there  been 
murdered?" 

"  That's  one  of  my  theories." 

"  How  do  you  know  that  the  body  in  the  trunk 
was  that  of  a  woman?  Did  you  see  the  face  and 
enough  of  the  body  to  be  accurate  in  this  asser- 
tion? " 

"  I  saw  the  hand  and  arm  hanging  over  the  edge 
of  the  trunk,  when  the  latter  was  lifted  out  of  the 
wagon  at  the  park  by  King  and  Fairburn.  They 
-were  slender  and  delicate.  I  did  not  see  the  face, 
because  the  mare  became  restive  at  the  unusual 
proceedings  and  the  sight  of  the  white  object,  for 
the  body  was  wrapped  in  cotton.  I  had  to  turn  my 
attention  to  her.  As  I  did  so,  I  heard  the  men  say: 
'  Here  is  where  we  leave  Allie.'  That's  a  woman's 
name,  ain't  it?  Another  thing  I  heard  was:  '  If 
they  had  left  Tom  alone,  he'd  had  Cronin  in  the 


VARIOUS   OPINIONS  IO5 

trunk  in  place  of  Allie.'  That  shows  the  doctor's 
connection  with  the  case,  and  that  the  girl  had 
friends,  don't  it?  Well,  that's  why  I  say  that  the 
body  in  the  trunk  was  that  of  the  woman,  and  that 
Cronin  had  some  connection  with  it.  Easy  to 
figure  that  out. " 

"  Might  the  men,  King  and  Fairburn,  have  tried 
to  throw  you  off  by  this  talk?  " 

"Don't  think  so." 

"  Can  you  say  positively  that  the  doctor's  body 
was  not  in  the  trunk  that  you  hauled  that  night?" 

"  Didn't  see  the  face  in  the  trunk,  but  I  know 
there  was  a  man  called  '  Doc'  in  the  barn  when  the 
trunk  was  carted  away.  Of  course  I  do  not  pre- 
tend to  be  positive  that  it  was  a  woman's  body  in 
the  trunk." 

"  The  doctor's  body  was  wrapped  in  cotton  when 
found,  the  body  in  the  trunk  was  wrapped  in  cot- 
ton, and  you  acknowledged  that  you  scraped  cotton 
from  the  bed  of  your  wagon  on  the  morning  of 
your  return  from  the  park.  Besides,  the  trunk 
was  found  within  a  stone's  throw  of  where  the  doc- 
tor's body  was  found.  How  does  that  strike  you 
as  a  refutation  of  your  woman  theory?  " 

For  several  moments  ensuing,  Mr.  Woodruff 
remained  silent,  stroking  his  very  thin  mustache, 
and  pulling  his  cigar  nervously.  Twice  he  started 
to  say  something,  but  only  puffed.  "  Well,  it  looks 
odd,  and  I  don't  believe  the  body  is  that  of  Cro- 
nin," he  said,  desperately. 

"But  it  is  the  doctor's — proved  so  beyond 
doubt." 


106  THE   GREAT   CRONIN  MYSTERY 

Again  the  prisoner  looked  disturbed  somewhat, 
though  it  must  be  said  he  is  a  man  of  wonderful 
nerve  or  simulation. 

"  I  can  clear  the  trunk  mystery  up  in  forty-eight 
hours,  and,  when  I  do  that,  I  clear  up  the  Cronin 
mystery.  The  two  are  identical." 

"  Why  do  you  say  that?  " 

"  Because  I  know  it.  I  won't  give  my  reasons, 
but  I  know  it.  If  the  police  had  acted  on  my  sug- 
gestions, and  not  thought  me  a  liar,  the  whole  af- 
fair would  have  been  cleared  up  a  week  ago.  King 
was  in  Chicago  last  Saturday.  I  know  this  for  a 
fact.  How?  Don't  propose  to  tell;  but  don't  you 
think  that  I  have  friends  who  come  to  see  me,  and 
who  know  these  men?  I'll  admit  that  I  know  more 
than  I  have  thus  far  told  of  this  whole  business; 
but,  even  if  I  do  tell  all  I  know,  and  the  officers  run 
it  down,  I'll  still  be  held  for  horse-stealing." 

"  You  know  very  well  that,  if  you  clear  up  this 
Cronin  mystery,  and  prove  yourself  innocent,  that 
the  friends  of  the  doctor  will  see  you  through  this 
horse-stealing  business,  and  buy  you  a  whole  drove 
of  horses  if  you  want  them.  Don't  you  know 
that?  " 

"  Perhaps  they  would,"  he  answered,  slowly, 
"  and  I'll  tell  you  what  I'll  do.  If  the  police  will 
send  two  men,  dressed  as  citizens,  to  accompany 
me  on  my  investigations,  leaving  me  apparently 
free,  I'll  agree  to  turn  up  such  evidence  as  will  clear 
up  the  mystery  in  forty-eight  hours.  I  ask  for  no 
reward  except  my  liberty.  Cronin's  friends  ought 
to  go  on  my  bail  if  they  are  so  anxious  to  run  this 


VARIOUS   OPINIONS  1 07 

thing  down.  I  can  do  it,  and  will  under  those  con- 
ditions. I  maintain  that,  if  the  body  found  was  that 
of  Cronin,  he  must  have  been  killed  later  than  the 
date  on  which  I  hauled  the  trunk.  A  close  exam- 
ination of  the  body  will  no  doubt  reveal  this." 

Woodruff  said  all  this  slowly,  and  seemed  as 
though  making  up  and  weighing  carefully  every 
word  he  uttered. 

One  of  the  strongest  points  against  the  prisoner 
is  his  description  of  Dr.  Cronin.  It  is,  in  fact,  the 
only  accurate  description  furnished  of  the  doctor 
when  last  seen.  When  Woodruff  stated  that  the 
man  he  claimed  was  the  doctor  wore  a  goatee  the 
police  laughed,  and  the  doctor's  friends  laughed. 

"  He  never  wore  a  goatee,"  said  they. 

Yet  he  did  wear  a  goatee,  and,  when  his  mangled 
and  broken  body  was  drawn  from  the  manhole, 
there  was  the  goatee.  Certainly,  Woodruff  saw 
Cronin.  He  did  not  know  him,  yet  he  saw  him. 
He  was  the  last  man  to  see  him,  and,  in  describing 
the  doctor,  the  cunning  fellow  was  simply  describing 
the  corpse  which  he  dragged  from  the  trunk  and 
hid  away.  The  friends  of  the  doctor  had  not  seen 
him  wear  the  goatee,  for  it  was  evidently  but  a  few 
weeks  old.  That  is  why  they  laughed  at  the  man, 
who  was  all  the  while  telling  a  ghastly  truth.  He 
told  it  for  the  express  purpose  and  hope  that  the 
doctor's  disappearance  would  be  credited  to  fedr 
at  the  finding  of  the  woman's  body.  There  was  no 
woman  in  the  trunk,  but,  if  he  could  cause  the 
belief  that  malpractice  had  been  resorted  to,  and 
that  Dr.  Cronin  was  connected  with  the  affair, 


108  THE   GREAT   CRONIN   MYSTERY 

wouldn't  the  general  public  believe  his  story  when 
the  doctor  could  not  be  found? 

"  Where  is  the  doctor?  "  was  just  what  everybody 
did  ask. 

"  Why,  he  skipped  out  to  avoid  trouble  about 
that  woman  in  the  trunk,"  these  same  people  them- 
selves answered  a  few  days  later.  This  is  just  as 
the  wily  Mr.  Woodruff  had  planned  it.  This  cer- 
tainly reflects  some  credit  on  that  gentleman  as  a 
schemer,  showing  that  he  is  not  the  fool  the  wise 
police  have  claimed  him  to  be.  That  he  is  a 
"  crook,"  he  does  not  deny.  His  frequent  arrests, 
his  occasional  thieves' slang,  and  his  confession  that 
he  has  done  "  little  things  on  the  queer. "  Then, 
too,  he  boasted  that  he  knew  at  one  time  all  the 
"  hard  "  men  in  the  country.  Again,  he  says  that, 
when  the  body  was  taken  from  the  trunk,  he 
drove  alone  northward  with  the  trunk  and  then 
threw  it  out  of  the  wagon.  This  is  false,  for  the 
Lake  View  police  saw  the  white  horse  and  wagon 
north  of  the  park  on  that  fatal  morning,  and  they 
saw  not  only  Woodruff  in  it,  but  two  men  as  well. 
These  were  the  parties  he  calls  King  and  Fairburn, 
and  all  were  returning  to  town  after  hiding  Dr. 
Cronin's  body. 

Another  clincher  and  a  positive  refutation  of  the 
woman  story  is  to  be  found  in  Dr.  Brandt's  asser- 
tion. "  I  will  swear  that  the  hair  I  found  in  the 
trunk  is  the  same  as  that  I  saw  to-night  on  the 
head  of  the  corpse  of  Dr.  Cronin.  The  microscope 
won't  lie. " 


VARIOUS   OPINIONS  1 09 

Mr.  Woodruff  says  he  knows  more  than  he  has 
told.  He  is  right;  he  does.  He  knows  it  all. 

The  Times'  people  seem  to  think  that  Woodruff 
knows  a  great  deal,"  remarked  my  wife,  as  I 
stopped  reading  for  a  moment. 

"  He  has  given  them  cause  to  think  so,"  I 
answered. 

"  Do  you  think  he  is  guilty?"  she  asked. 

"  No  man  is  guilty  until  he  is  known  so,"  I 
replied,  evasively. 

I  said  no  more.  It  is  not  always  safe  to  express 
your  thoughts  to  a  woman,  even  if  she  is  your  wife, 
and  a  good  one. 

Women  talk  sometimes — a  failing  that  many  of 
them  have.  My  wife  is  no  exception  to  the  rule, 
even  if  she  is  my  wife. 

I  resumed  my  reading. 


110  THE  GREAT   CRONIN  MYSTERY 

CHAPTER  XIII. 

THEORIES. 

THE  actions  of  T.  T.  Conklin,  brother-in-law  of 
Dr.  Cronin,  were  shrouded  in  mystery.  He  went 
direct  to  the  Lake  View  Police  Station  on  learning 
of  the  finding  of  Dr.  Cronin's  body.  He  identified 
it  immediately,  and,  without  making  any  one  aware 
of  his  intentions,  he  started  at  once  for  the  city. 

At  Monroe  and  Clark  streets  he  jumped  into  a 
cab  and  was  driven  to  1007  West  Monroe  street. 
He  remained  there  for  some  time,  and  then  went 
back  to  his  home,  470  North  Clark  street,  where  he 
armed  himself  with  a  number  of  papers,  and  started 
for  the  Chicago  Avenue  Police  Station.  From 
there  he  was  driven  to  Captain  Schaack's  house,  on 
North  State  street,  in  company  with  Sergeant  Koch. 
The  captain  was  very  sick,  and  in  bed,  but,  when 
the  nature  of  Mr.  Conklin's  visit  was  explained, 
the  gentleman  was  admitted. 

After  a  confab  of  several  moments,  Messrs. 
Koch  and  Conklin  went  back  to  the  Chicago  Ave- 
nue Police  Station,  where  the  latter  divested  himself 
of  some  important  information.  The  nature  of 
this  information  neither  Sergeant  Koch  nor  Mr. 
Conklin  would  make  known. 

Mr.  Conklin  was  trembling  violently  all  the 
evening  with  nervous  excitement,  and  it  is  believed 
that  he  has  given  up  to  the  police  all  the  informa- 
tion he  possessed.  He  refused  positively  to  speak 


THEORIES  1 1 1 

to  reporters.  When  asked  by  a  Times  reporter  if 
the  identification  was  complete,  he  said  it  was. 

"  Have  you  any  suspicions  as  to  who  the  mur- 
derers are?  " 

"  I  have  nothing  to  say  to   reporters  whatever." 

"  Just  one  more  question." 

"  Not  one;  my  time  is  my  own,  and  I'll  do  what 
I  please  with  it. " 

The  door  slammed  in  the  reporter's  face,  and  the 
key  was  turned  in  the  lock.  He  was  seen  again 
afterward,  however,  but  still  refused  to  talk.  To 
all  questions  he  remained  perfectly  silent. 

Sergeant  Koch,  when  asked  if  Mr.  Conklingave 
any  information  bearing  on  the  Cronin  case,  said 
he  gave  some  information  which  bore  indirectly  on 
the  case,  but  that  nothing  was  given  of  an  impor- 
tant nature.  "  We  are  really  not  possessed  of  any 
information,"  said  he,  "  that  will  warrant  the  arrest 
of  anybody  as  yet." 

Shortly  after  the  news  of  the  finding  of  Dr.  Cro- 
nin's  body  had  been  received,  a  Times  reporter 
called  on  Mrs.  Conklin,  at  her  home  on  North 
Clark  street. 

"  Have  you  heard  the  news,  Mrs.  Conklin?  " 

"  No;  what  is  it?  " 

"  Dr.  Cronin's  body  has  been  found." 

Mrs.  Conklin  leaned  against  the  door,  and  her 
eyes  rested  on  the  floor  for  a  moment. 

"  Where  did  they  find  it?  "  she  asked,  in  a  low, 
unmoved  tone  of  voice. 

"  Out  in  Lake  View,  near  Argyle  Park,  in  a 
sewer." 


112  THE   GREAT   CRONIN   MYSTERY 

"  Are  you  sure  it  is  the  doctor's  body?  " 

"  Quite  sure.  A  message  has  been  received  stat- 
ing that  the  identification  was  positive." 

"  Well,"  after  a  moment's  pause,  "  I  am  not  a  bit 
surprised.  I  always  said  he  had  been  murdered, 
and  this  proves  it." 

"  Mrs.  Conklin,  have  you  any  idea  who  killed  the 
doctor?  " 

Mrs.  Conklin  picked  up  a  little  rat  terrier  that 
was  playing  around  her  feet,  and  held  him  in  her 
arms.  "  I  can't  say.  I  knew  he  had  been  mur- 
dered." 

"  You  will  undoubtedly  give  the  police  the  ben- 
efit of  your  knowledge  concerning  the  doctor's 
enemies  to  enable  them  in  finding  the  murderers." 

"  I  don't  know  that  I  will.  I  told  them  a  good 
many  things  that  would  have  enabled  them  to  find 
the  body  before  this  had  they  acted  on  it,  and  they 
seem  to  know  so  much  that  they  won't  appreciate 
what  I  can  tell  them." 

"  Then,  you  can  tell  them  something?  " 

"  I  don't  want  to  talk  any  more,"  said  Mrs.  Conk- 
lin, preparing  to  close  the  door. 

"  Have  you  heard  from  Lake  View?  " 

"  There  was  a  message  came  here  from  there  for 
my  husband  just  before  you  came." 

"  When  will  he  be  back?" 

"  I  don't  know  !  Good  night,"  and  the  door  was 
shut  in  the  reporter's  face. 

Mrs.  Conklin  was  besieged  with  callers  during 
the  evening,  who  came  to  make  inquiries  about  the 
identification  of  the  body  and  the  preparations  for 


THEORIES  113 

the  funeral.  She  was  not  in  a  very  good  humor, 
however,  and  seemed  to  feel  very  bitter  toward 
those  who  had  believed  sensational  stories  about 
the  doctor.  "  I  knew  he  was  dead,"  she  said,  "  and 
I  should  think  people  would  feel  ashamed  of  them- 
selves now  for  believing  that  he  was  insane  or  that 
he  could  be  guilty  of  trying  to  get  up  a  sensation." 

All  of  the  evening  and  far  into  the  night,  people 
came  in  carriages,  in  cabs,  and  on  foot  to  view  the 
body.  The  crowd  around  the  station  did  not 
decrease  in  size,  and  at  midnight  the  excitement  had 
not  abated.  Never  in  its  history  has  Lake  View 
known  such  a  sensation.  At  every  corner  for  many 
blocks  from  the  station,  groups  of  men  stood  around 
discussing  the  discovery  of  the  body,  the  complete 
identification,  and  the  theories  of  the  cause  for  the 
desperate  and  as  yet  mysterious  murder. 

Captain  Wing,  ex-CaptainVilliers,  and  other  Lake 
View  officers  held  consultations  with  detectives 
from  the  Central  Station.  John  F.  Scanlan,  Captain 
O'Connor,  and  others  who  have  led  the  efforts  to 
find  Dr.  Cronin's  body  also  held  whispered  con- 
versations. Officers  were  coming  and  going  on 
missions  which  they  refused  to  divulge,  but  occa- 
sionally some  bits  of  the  official  information  were 
disclosed. 

At  this  time  the  theories  as  to  the  provocation 
for  the  cowardly  murder  are  pregnant  with  interest. 
They  are  openly  discussed  on  the  streets,  and  are 
not  secrets.  One  of  the  theories  advanced  last 
night  is  a  novel  one,  and  had  many  advocates. 

Cronin  Mystery  8 


114  THE   GREAT  CRONIN   MYSTERY 

It  is  that  Dr.  Cronin  was  a  British  spy,  and  was 
murdered  because  of  what  he  knew  about  secret 
societies  and  Irishmen  specially  active  in  the  Irish 
cause.  It  is  argued- that  he  was  not  in  favor  with 
those  who  have  taken  a  prominent  part  in  Irish 
affairs,  because  his  policy  was  a  too  rabid  and 
violent  one;  that  he  associated  with  men  more 
rabid  and  violent  than  himself.  His  mission  be- 
coming known,  he  was  murdered  to  prevent  the 
English  government  from  learning  the  things  he 
knew. 

This  theory  makes  some  man  or  men  in  some 
society  responsible  for  his  death.  It  is  not  claimed 
that  he  was  killed  because  it  was  feared  he  would 
divulge  to  the  world  any  irregular  proceedings  by 
any  members  of  these  societies,  but  that  he  was 
"  forcibly  removed  "  because  he  was  a  traitor  to 
the  cause  so  dear  to  every  Irish  heart.  The  ad- 
vocates of  this  theory  are  emphatic  in  their  asser- 
tions that  he  was  murdered  by  a  fellow  Catholic. 
The  fact  that  the  religious  charm  around  his  neck, 
held  sacred  by  Catholics,  was  not  removed  when 
the  body  was  stripped,  is  pointed  to  as  evidence 
corroborating  this  theory.  Not  a  stitch  of  clothing 
was  left  upon  the  body,  and  a  towel  was  twisted 
around  the  neck  either  to  absorb  the  blood  from 
the  wounds,  or  to  aid  in  choking  him  while  death 
blows  were  dealt.  The  perpetrators  of  this  shock- 
ing murder  must  have  seen  the  Agnus  Dei.  It 
could  have  been  removed  in  a  second  by  drawing 
it  over  the  head  or  by  cutting  it.  It  might  lead 


THEORIES  "115 

to  the  identification  of  the  body,  yet  it  was  not 
touched. 

The  only  explanation  left  is  that  his  murderers, 
who  were  crazed  fanatics  in  some  cause,  dare  not 
touch  that  sacred  emblem  even  after  they  had  laved 
their  hands  in  his  blood. 

The  old  theories  that  Dr.  Cronin  was  murdered 
because  of  his  threatened  exposure  of  secret  society 
secrets  are  well  known,  and  need  not  be  enlarged 
upon  at  this  time. 

Shortly  after  Dr.  Cronin's  mysterious  disappear- 
ance John  Scanlan  said:  "  If  we  ever  find  his  body, 
we  can  locate  his  murderers. "  Captain  O'Connor 
also  said:  "  Show  me  the  dead  body  of  Dr.  Cronin 
and  I  will  point  out  his  murderers." 

Both  of  these  gentlemen  declined  to  talk  about 
the  matter  last  night.  Their  words  become  fraught 
with  significance  at  this  time  and  the  officers  will 
doubtless  ask  for  explanations.  Speaking  of  the 
rewards  offered  for  the  discovery  of  Dr.  Cronin, 
Mr.  Scanlan  said:  "The  reward  of  $5,000  was 
offered  for  the  discovery  of  his  body  and  evidence 
that  would  lead  to  the  arrest  and  conviction  of  his 
murderers." 

Mr.  Scanlan  did  not  say  so,  but  the  inference 
was  very  plain  that  the  reward  would  not  be  paid 
for  the  discovery  of  his  body  only. 

The  evidence  that  Dr.  Cronin's  body  was  put  in 
the  trunk  is  about  complete,  and  there  is  little  doubt 
that  the  trunk  was  used  by  the  assassins. 

I  laid  the  paper  aside. 


Il6  THE   GREAT   CRONIN   MYSTERY 

My  wife  sat  looking  passively  at  the  fire  which 
was  burning  in  the  grate. 

"  What  is  your  idea?  "  she  said,  at  last.  Woman- 
like, she  was  trying  to  draw  me  out. 

I  arose  from  my  easy-chair,  filled  a  pipe  with 
tobacco,  applied  a  match,  and  puffed  several  times. 

Then  I  said,  slowly: 

"  I  have  an  idea  that  Dr.  Cronin  was  mur- 
dered. 

She  flushed  fiery  red. 

"  That  is  admitted  by  every  one  now,  she  flashed; 
"  but  who  did  it?  " 

I  smiled,  and  kissed  her.  "  The  person  who 
struck  the  blow,  darling,"  I  replied. 

She  broke  away  from  me,  and  ran  up-stairs  to 
bed.  I  followed  her. 

She  seemed  to  be  angry.  There  was  no  earthly 
reason  for  it.  I  told  her  the  truth.  I  knew  about 
as  much  about  it  as  any  one,  excepting  the  assas- 
sin. 


THE   CARLSON   COTTAGE 

CHAPTER  XIV, 

THE   CARLSON   COTTAGE. 

ALTHOUGH  much  better,  I  could  not  with  safety 
leave  my  house  the  next  day,  nor  the  next.  I 
eagerly  scanned  the  papers,  expecting  that  each 
edition  would  record  the  finding  of  the  doctor's 
case  of  instruments  or  his  clothing.  There  was  still 
the  white  horse  and  buggy  to  be  found.  I  regretted 
that  I  was  not  able  to  be  up  and  about,  so  to  speak, 
so  as  I  could  carry  out  several  theories  which  I  had 
formed  as  to  the  case  while  confined  to  my  bed.  I 
had  heard  nothing,  either,  from  the  man  who  had 
engaged  me  to  shadow  his  wife.  I  wanted  to  in- 
vestigate that  matter  further,  for  my  own  satisfac- 
tion, even  if  nothing  else  came  from  it.  My  doc- 
tor warned  me  to  be  careful. 

"  You  must  not  allow  yourself  to  become  too 
excited,"  he  said.  "  To  a  man  in  your  condition 
excitement  is  dangerous;  "  and  so  I  was  obliged  to 
take  things  as  easy  as  I  could.  I  walked  about  the 
house,  read  the  papers,  smoked  a  little,  and  played 
with  the  children.  They  were  glad  to  have  me 
home  with  them.  My  profession  called  for  much 
absence  from  home,  and  they  loved  their  father 
dearly,  and  so  appreciated  the  fact  that  I  was 
home  with  them  so  long.  But  all  this  did  not 
satisfy  me.  I  was  anxious  to  be  out,  more  par- 
ticularly after  reading  the  Herald  and  Times 
of  the  24th  instant.  I  saw  that  the  police  had  at 


u8 


THE   GREAT   CRONIN   MYSTERY 


last  struck  a  big  clue.      The  Herald  went  on  to 
say: 

Quite  the  most  important  clue  yet  found  in  the 
Cronin  case  was  the  statement  made  by  Patrick  O. 
Sullivan,  the  ice  dealer,  that  something  mysterious 
regarding  the  renting  of  a  cottage  near  his  residence 
had  taken  place,  the  people  who  had  rented  the 
cottage  never  appearing  to  take  possession,  though 
they  had  paid  their  first  month's  rent.  He  thought 


Cottage  in  which  Dr.  Cronin  was  Murdered. 

the  matter  should  be  investigated,  as  he  had  under- 
stood that  the  cottage  was  rented  by  some  one  who 
pretended  to  be  going  to  work  for  him,  though  no 
such  persons  had  been  engaged  by  him.  As  far  as 
he  knew,  after  the  persons  who  rented  the  cottage 
had  put  in  their  carpets,  about  three  weeks  ago, 
they  never  came  near  the  house. 

Mr.  Sullivan  lives  in  a  comfortable  house  at  the 


The  Carlson  Family. 


THE   CARLSON   COTTAGE  Ir9 

corner  of  Bosworth  and  Roscoe  streets,  in  Lake 
View,  the  house  standing  on  the  corner,  facing  east, 
and  surrounded  by  ample  grounds,  with  barn  and 
out-houses  in  the  rear.  The  corner  lot  back  of  his 
residence  is  vacant,  but  immediately  next  to  it, 
facing  Ashland  avenue  and  almost  in  the  rear  of 
Sullivan's  house,  stands  the  vacant  cottage.  It  is 
a  two-story  structure,  standing  fenced  in  a  narro\\ 
lot.  All  the  blinds  are  up,  and  the  house  has  quite 
a  funereal  aspect,  entirely  in  keeping  with  the  pos- 
sibility of  its  being  the  actual  scene  of  Dr.  Cronin's 
murder. 

Crowded  into  the  lot  in  the  rear  of  this  vacant 
cottage  is  a  smaller  building  in  which  live  Mr.  and 
Mrs.  Carlson,  two  aged  Swedes,  whose  only  means 
of  livelihood  is  the  rent  of  the  now  vacant  cottage. 
With  them  lives  their  son,  a  man  about  twenty- 
five  years  old. 

When  the  Herat  reporter  knocked  at  the  door 
of  this  little  cottage  yesterday  afternoon,  young 
John  Carlson  barred  the  doorway  with  his  form, 
and  refused  to  let  the  reporter  enter.  Inside  were 
seen  two  detectives  from  the  East  Chicago  Avenue 
Station,  and  they  had  evidently  coached  young 
Carlson  so  well  that  he  positively  refused  to  answer 
any  questions. 

"  You  know  what  I  am  after,  and  the  stories  told 
about  this  rented  cottage?" 

"Yes,  I  know  all  about  that,  but  I  cannot  talk 
to  you." 

"  It's  a  fact  that  the  cottage  was  rented  by  two 


120  THE   GREAT   CRONIN  MYSTERY 

mysterious  persons,  who  paid  the  first  month's  rent 
and  have  not  been  seen  around  here  lately?," 

"  Yes,  but  I  tell  you  I  cannot  talk  about  it.  The 
Herald  will  get  all  there  is  about  it  as  soon  as  any- 
body does." 

"  How  about  the  blood  you  are  said  to  have 
seen?" 

He  started  as  though  he  had  been  shot,  but 
quickly  recovered  himself  and  said:  "  You  can't 
get  anything  out  of  me,  and  there's  no  use  in  try- 
ing. I  won't  talk. " 

"  Can  I  see  your  mother?  " 

"  No;  you  can't.     L  can't  let  you  in  at  all." 

A  police  officer,  who  was  found  in  the  vicinity, 
added  the  very  important  information  that  he  had 
heard  something  about  the  mysterious  renting  of 
the  cottage,  and  had  gone  to  the  Carlsons'  house 
the  evening  before  to  investigate.  "  While  I  was 
there,"  he  said,  "  young  Carlson  came  in  quite 
drunk,  and  started  to  say  something  about  some 
blood  he  had  seen  in  the  cottage.  The  old  lady  at 
once  interfered  and  made  him  shut  up,  and  after 
that  I  could  get  him  to  say  nothing,  and  the  old 
lady  would  not  talk  either.  I  couldn't  get  a  thing 
out  of  them  after  that,  but  I  heard  the  young  man 
say  he  was  going  to  tell  what  he  knew  to  the  police. 
I  think,  from  the  fact  of  the  detectives  being  there 
all  the  morning  and  afternoon,  that  there  is  a  great 
deal  in  it,  but  just  what  I  don't  know.  Of  course, 
as  long  as  the  detectives  are  working  on  the  case  I 
sha'n't  interfere,  but  I  tell  you  there's  something  in 
it." 


THE   CARLSON   COTTAGE  121 

A  good-looking  young  woman  came  to  the  door 
of  the  Sullivan  residence,  and,  though  she  refused 
to  give  her  name,  readily  told  all  she  knew  about 
the  renting  of  the  cottage. 

"  Not  quite  two  months  ago  I  noticed  that  the 
bill  in  the  window  was  taken  down,  and  my  milk- 
man told  me  that  the  cottage  had  been  rented.  I 
was  glad  of  that,  for  the  Carlsons  had  had  so  much 
trouble  about  their  cottage.  The  man  who  was  in 
it  before  embezzled  some  money  from  the  Bruns- 
wick &  Balke  Company,  and  went  to  the  peniten- 
tiary, and  his  family  had  to  leave,  and  the  cottage 
was  vacant  for  a  while.  I  understood  from  the 
milkman  that  a  woman  had  come  and  rented  the 
cottage,  and  paid  twelve  dollars  for  one  month's 
rent  in  advance.  About  three  weeks  ago,  one 
Sunday  night,  we  saw  a  light  in  the  house,  but,  as 
far  as  I  know,  no  one  has  been  there  since.  Mrs. 
Carlson  said  she  didn't  know  what  to  make  of  it, 
and,  if  they  did  not  come  to  take  possession  to-day, 
she  was  going  to  take  it  herself  and  rent  it  again. 
The  tenants  had  the  key,  but  she  was  going  to  get 
in  anyway." 

In  a  grocery  store,  a  couple  of  blocks  away,  the 
Carlsons  and  their  mysterious  cottage  had  been  the 
subject  of  considerable  comment.  "  I  understood," 
said  the  woman  behind  the  counter,  "  that  the  cot- 
tage was  rented  by  two  young  Irishmen,  who  gave 
it  out  that  they  were  going  to  work  for  Mr.  Sulli- 
van, the  iceman,  and  that  their  sister  was  going 
to  keep  house  for  them.  Mr.  Sullivan  says  that 
he  had  hired  no  such  men,  and  did  not  know  any- 


122  THE   GREAT   CRONIN   MYSTERY 

thing  about  them.  I  should  think  it  was  about  a 
month  ago  that  they  came  to  the  house  in  the  even- 
ing, and  put  their  carpets  in;  but  I  don't  know  as 
they  have  been  there  since.  There's  something 
very  mysterious  about  the  way  they  have  acted. 
Mrs.  Carlson  never  saw  them  but  once,  she  says, 
and  describes  them  as  both  young  men,  and  evi- 
dently Irish  workingmen.  The  story  of  their  going 
to  work  for  Sullivan  was  not  so,  and  they  might 
have  been  concerned  in  Dr.  Cronin's  murder." 

What  the  blood  was  that  young  Carlson  saw,  and 
where  he  saw  it,  could  not  be  learned  from  him, 
as  he  positively  and  emphatically  refused  to  say 
anything.  It  could  not  be  learned  that  he  had 
been  in  the  vacant  cottage,  and  there  did  not  seem 
to  be  any  traces  of  blood  about  the  front  steps.  He 
evidently  has  made  some  communication  of  impor- 
tance to  the  detectives,  and  they  are  jealously 
guarding  it. 

It  seems  more  than  probable  at  this  writing  that 
the  cottage  was  hired  by  the  assassins  of  Dr.  Cronin, 
and  he  was  decoyed  to  it,  murdered  there,  and 
then  the  body  was  taken  away  in  the  trunk.  This 
it  was  that  caused  some  of  the  officials  to  say  that 
they  were  on  the  right  track  of  the  murderers,  and 
this  clue  was  what  kept  the  police  so  busy  yesterday. 

The  Times  also  published  the  following: 

When  the  one-story  and  attic  cottage  at  1872 
Ashland  avenue,  in  which  there  is  now  no  doubt 
that  Dr.  Cronin  was  murdered,  was  first  found,  the 
great  splotches  and  stains  of  blood  on  the  floor 
were  seen  to  have  been  splattered  about  by  the 


THE   CARLSON   COTTAGE 


123 


bare  foot  of  a  man.  Occasionally  the  impress  of 
the  right  foot  was  also  seen.  Over  the  blood  in 
every  instance  but  one  was  spread  a  thin  coating  of 
yellow  paint.  To  avoid  contact  with  the  blood, 
the  man  or  men  in  the  cottage  endeavored  to  blot 
out  all  signs  of  life  fluid  by  means  of  paint.  To  do 
this  one  of  the  fellows  hopped  about  the  floor  in 


A  Faint  Footprint  in  the  HalL 

his  bare  feet,  daubing  his  brush  wherever  he  saw  a 
pool  or  stain  of  blood.  The  floor,  walls,  and  front 
stairway  are  thus  daubed  over. 

The  brush  that  did  the  painting  was  found 
yesterday  afternoon  in  the  attic  of  the  building  by 
the  officers.  It  is  an  ordinary  wide-made  painter's 


124  THE   GREAT   CRONIN   MYSTERY 

brush,  and  is  covered  with  the  yellow  paint  similar 
to  that  used  on  the  floor. 

The  key  belonging  to  the  trunk  containing  the 
body  of  Dr.  Cronin  was  also  found  in  the  room 
where  the  murder  took  place.  This,  in  the  eyes  of 
the  police,  proves  conclusively  that  the  doctor  was 
not  only  murdered  in  the  cottage,  but  that  he  was 
also  jammed  into  the  trunk  there.  Whether  they 
lost  the  key,  or  purposely  threw  it  away,  is  not 
known.  There  are  no  marks  on  it  by  which  any 
identification  can  be  made,  or  by  which  it  could  be 
traced  to  the  place  of  sale.  As  to  the  paint-brush, 
Lieuttenant  Schuettler  carried  it  away  with  him, 
and  he  refused  to  say  whether  or  not  there  was  a 
mark  on  it  by  which  it  could  be  traced  to  the  store 
from  which  it  was  sold. 

To  more  fully  satisfy  themselves  as  to  the  amount 
of  blood  spattered  about  the  floors,  the  police 
secured  a  bottle  of  turpentine,  with  which  they 
proposed  to  eat  the  paint  out  of  the  floor.  They 
soon  satisfied  themselves  that  there  was  more  blood 
scattered  about  than  they  could  conveniently  handle, 
and  then  they  sensibly  turned  their  attention  to 
discovering  whether  the  blood  in  the  trunk  was  the 
same  as  that  on  the  floor  of  the  cottage.  This,  too, 
was  found  out  to  be  correct.  Dr.  Brandt  and  Dr. 
Hectoern,  the  pathologist  at  the  Cook  County 
Hospital,  after  a  careful  examination,  stated  that 
the  blood  was  the  same  as  that  found  in  the  trunk. 
The  corpuscles  were  similar,  and  the  pigmentation 
the  same,  as  were  also  the  crystals  found  in  the 
blood  in  the  trunk  and  cottage. 


THE   CARLSON   COTTAGE 


125 


"  It  is  human  blood,  and  there  is  absolutely  no 
doubt  as  to  the  similarity  of  the  gore  found  in  both 
instances,"  said  the  physicians. 


"  Some  Blood  Stains." 

Portions  of  the  blood-stained  wood  were  cut 
from  the  flooring  and  stairway  by  reporters  and 
officers  for  special  examinations.  The  result  was 
a  proof  of  the  correctness  of  Drs.  Brandt  and  Hec- 
toern. 


126      THE  GREAT  CRONIN  MYSTERY 

There  are  six  rooms,  a  large  basement  and  attic 
in  the  cottage,  and  it  was  on  the  parlor  floor  that 
the  terrible  deed  was  committed.  Slight  stains  of 
blood  were  also  found  on  the  door-casing  leading 
from  the  parlor  to  the  sitting-room.  The  supposi- 
tion is  that  the  doctor  received  his  first  proba- 
bly fatal  wound  in  passing  from  one  room  to  the 
other. 

The  Carlsons  were  seen  by  a  Times  representa- 
tive, though  they  had  been  sworn  to  secrecy  by  the 
police,  young  Carlson  going  so  far  as  to  sign  a 
paper  to  that  effect  before  State's  Attorney  Longe- 
necker.  However,  the  story  as  told  by  them  is  as 
follows: 

The  2Oth  of  March  last  a  man  fairly  well  dressed, 
but  looking  as  if  he  might  be  a  workingman,  came 
to  the  rear  of  the  cottage  and  asked  if  the  one  in 
front  was  for  rent.  He  was  told  that  it  was,  and 
that  the  price  was  $13.  He  immediately  rented  it, 
paying  his  money  down  at  the  time.  He  went 
away,  and  several  days  later  came  back  with  an- 
other man  and  a  wagon  carrying  some  furniture 
consisting  of  a  bureau,  wash-stand,  bedstead  and 
several  rugs.  They  then  left,  and  were  not  seen 
again  until  the  2Oth  of  April,  when  they  again  re- 
turned and  desired  to  pay  another  month's  rent. 
They  hadn't  occupied  the  house  during  March,  and 
the  furniture  they  brought  for  the  place  was  so 
small  that  suspicions  were  excited,  and  it  was  con- 
cluded not  to  rent  them  the  place  again.  Mrs. 
Carlson  was  alone  in  the  rear  cottage  at  the  time, 


THE  CARLSON  COTTAGE 


127 


and  at  first  firmly  refused   to  rent.     She   said  the 
place  was  for  sale. 

"  What  is  your  price?"  asked  one  of  the  two  men, 


*$F? 


SULLIVAN'S   CARL-   MURDERERS*, 
HOUSE.  BARN.        BON'S.    ..COTTAGE. 


Some  Points  of  Interest. 

who  called  themselves  Williams,  stating  that  they 
were  brothers. 

"  It  is  $3,000,"  she  replied. 

"  That  is  too  much.  I  would  not  give  over  $2,500 
for  it,"  said  the  speaker. 


128  THE  GREAT  CRONIN  MYSTERY 

They  rented  the  house,  saying  that  the  sister, 
who  was  sick,  would  soon  be  able  to  leave  the  hos- 
pital and  take  up  her  residence  in  the  cottage.  No 
sister  ever  came,  though  last  Thursday  one  of  the 
men  came  again  and  wanted  to  rent  the  house. 

As  to  all  this  the  police,  of  course,  have  but  one 
opinion.  The  house  was  rented  for  the  purpose  of 
murdering  Dr.  Cronin  in  it  as  guardedly  as  possi- 
ble, and  that  the  cause  of  the  cottage  being  rented 
in  both  March  and  April,  was  for  the  reason  that  no 
favorable  opportunity  to  make  away  with  the  physi- 
cian had  presented  itself.  As  to  the  attempt  to 
again  rent  the  cottage  Thursday,  this  is  explained 
on  the  theory  that  the  murderers  hoped  to  cover 
up  the  scene  of  the  crime  as  long  as  possible.  The 
Carlsons  are  old-fashioned  people,  and,  when  once 
they  rented  the  cottage,  they  believed  they  had  no 
right  whatever  to  enter  the  premises.  They  were 
as  much  surprised  as  were  the  police  when  the  facts 
connected  with  the  cottage  became  known. 

A  search  for  Dr.  Cronin's  clothes  about  the  prem- 
ises resulted  in  nothing.  The  cellar  was  dug  up, 
and  the  ground  under  the  main  stairway  was  also 
spaded.  During  these  researches  at  the  houses,  the 
police  were  busy  with  young  John  Carlson,  who 
gave  about  the  best  description  the  police  received 
of  the  two  men  who  rented  from  his  mother.  He 
was  spirited  away  from  Lake  View.  The  police 
suspect  two  men,  and  are  trying  to  run  down  the 
"  Williams  brothers."  It  is  thought  that  they  are 
not  in  the  city. 

The  man  who  last  lived  in  the  Carlson  cottage, 


THE   CARLSON   COTTAGE  129 

some  time  in  the  fall,  was  a  well-dressed  man  of 
medium  or  rather  heavy  build,  about  six  feet  in 
height,  and  wore  a  heavy  black  mustache.  This  is 
the  exact  description  given  of  the  tenant  by  Mrs. 
Lindgren,  a  daughter  of  the  Carlsons.  She  had 
not  been  seen  by  the  police,  and  was  not  told  to 
"  keep  her  mouth  shut." 

"  I  am  sure  that  is  the  man's  description,"  she 
said,  "  and  I  am  also  sure  that  he  lived  with  his 
wife,  or  a  woman  whom  he  called  his  wife.  He  said 
he  was  a  book-keeper,  employed  in  the  city,  and 
was  rarely  seen  about  here  except  at  night.  The 
woman,  too,  was  rarely  seen." 

"  What  was  his  name?    or  did  he  give  one?" 

"  Oh,  yes;  he  gave  his  name,"  said  Mrs.  Lind- 
gren. "It  was  King." 

She  knew  no  more  of  the  man  and  his  wife,  as 
they  mysteriously  disappeared  one  night.  The 
description  of  the  man  and  the  name  as  given 
by  Mrs.  Lindgren,  who  speaks  with  a  German 
accent,  and  says  she  sees  no  paper  or  knows  nothing 
of  the  Cronin  mystery,  tallies  in  every  particular 
with  the  description  and  name  given  by  the  horse- 
thief  Woodruff  in  talking  of  the  man  who  with  Fair- 
burn  hired  him  to  haul  the  trunk.  This  is  a  very 
important  feature  in  the  case,  and  proves  beyond 
doubt  that  there  is  such  a  man  as  King  so  frequently 
talked  of  by  Woodruff.  This  unlettered  German 
woman  knows  nothing  of  the  intricacies  of  the  case; 
yet  she  describes  a  man,  even  to  his  name,  who  has 
all  along  cut  an  important  figure  in  the  mystery. 

Cronin  Mystery  g 


130  THE   GREAT   CRONIN   MYSTERY 

The  Carlson  cottage,  1872  Ashland  avenue,  in 
which  unmistakable  evidences  of  a  terrible  crime 
were  discovered,  and  where  there  is  now  little 
doubt  Dr.  Cronin  was  foully  murdered,  was  sur- 
rounded all  day  yesterday  by  a  crowd  of  police 
officers  and  curiosity-seekers.  Women  with  babes 
in  arms  and  children  hanging  to  their  skirts  lingered 
around  the  place  until  driven  home  by  hunger  or 
thirst.  They  saw  nothing  and  heard  only  their 
own  chattering  as  they  spoke  in  low  tones  of  the 
bloody  floor,  the  trunk,  and  the  desperation  of  the 
men  who  assassinated  the  doctor. 

Several  reporters,  after  gaining  ingress  to  the 
cottage  and  cutting  away  portions  of  the  blood- 
stained wood,  were  driven  out  by  Officer  Jacobs,  of 
the  Chicago  Avenue  Station,  at  the  point  of  a 
revolver.  The  newspaper  men  got  in  while  the 
officer  was  not  attending  strictly  to  business.  For 
this  act  of  neglect,  Officer  Jacobs  has  been  sus- 
pended by  Lieutenant  Schuettler. 

The  discoverer  of  the  blood  in  the  cottage  and 
the  subsequent  fact  that  it  was  there  that  Cronin 
was  killed  was  made  known  by  John  Carlson,  a  son 
of  the  owner  of  the  cottage.  After  making  his 
discovery  in  the  cottage  he  confided  the  matter  to 
a  milk  dealer  named  Diekman,  who  in  turn  told 
his  customers,  among  them  P.  O.  Sullivan,  the 
iceman,  who  lives  but  a  few  feet  from  the  cottage. 
Sullivan  told  Captain  Wing,  of  Lake  View,  and 
Lieutenant  Schuettler,  of  Chicago,  and  thus  was 
made  known  the  scene  of  the  murder.  From  this 
point  of  vantage  the  authorities  began  their  work. 


THE  CARLSON  COTTAGE          131 

Captain  Wing  rented  the  cottage  yesterday  for 
twelve  dollars,  but  real  estate  agent  Lukens,  who 
had  the  renting  of  it,  says,  if  he  had  known  in  time 
the  value  of  the  cottage,  he  could  have  got  $100  a 
week  for  it  from  any  newspaper  in  Chicago. 


132  THE  GREAT  CRONIN   MYSTERY 

CHAPTER  XV. 

FURTHER  CLUES. 

EACH  day  now  brought  something  new.  The 
Chicago  Herald  recorded  the  following,  which  I 
read,  and  put  away  for  future  use: 

The  police  are  fairly  on  the  track  of  the  Cronin 
murderers,  and,  with  the  information  they  are  now 
in  possession  of,  properly  worked  up,  there  ought 
to  be  little  chance  for  the  escape  of  the  assassins, 
Yesterday's  developments  were  of  the  most  sen- 
sational character,  and  were  two-fold  in  their 
nature. 

The  first  discovery  of  the  day  was  the  fact  that 
the  assassins  had  occupied  rooms  in  the  third  story 
of  the  building  117  Clark  street,  over  Buck  &  Ray- 
ner's  drugstore,  from  February  iQth,  or  thereabout, 
until  nearly  the  first  of  April.  From  the  front 
windows  of  these  rooms  they  could  survey  the 
entrance  to  the  Chicago  Opera  House  Block,  in 
which  both  Cronin  and  his  alleged  enemy,  Alex- 
ander Sullivan,  had  their  offices.  In  fact,  they 
could  look  directly  into  Mr.  Sullivan's  office. 
There  is  no  possible  doubt  of  any  mistake  on  these 
facts. 

As  has  been  heretofore  detailed  in  the  Herald, 
the  furniture  that  was  put  into  the  murderers'  cot- 
tage on  North  Ashland  avenue,  has  been  positively 
identified  by  Alexander  H.  Revell  &  Co.,  of  Fifth 
avenue  and  Randolph  street.  That  firm  sold  the 
furniture,  which  bore  their  trademark.  They  also 


FURTHER   CLUES  133 

sold  the  Becker  trunk  in  which  Dr.  Cronin's  remains 
were  carried  from  "  murderers'  cottage  "  to  the 
catch-basin,  where  they  were  found.  That,  too, 
is  an  established  fact.  But  when?  In  the  estab- 
lishment mentioned,  a  careful  and  systematic  record 
of  all  sales  is  kept,  comprising  a  description  of 
the  goods  sold,  their  price,  the  name  and  address 
of  the  purchaser,  and  any  attendant  circumstances 
that  may  serve  to  make  the  record  more  complete. 
Reference  to  this  record  and  interviews  with  sales- 
men in  the  Revell  store  furnished  the  entire  story 
of  the  crime's  preliminaries. 

On  February  iQth  a  man,  who  gave  the  name  of 
J.  B.  Simons,  bought  a  bill  of  goods  from  an  em- 
ploye of  Mr.  Revell.  Simons  was  a  man  about  five 
feet  and  seven  inches  in  height;  his  weight  was 
about  one  hundred  and  fifty  pounds;  his  complex- 
ion was  neither  dark  nor  fair;  he  had  a  rather  heavy 
reddish  brown  mustache;  his  forehead  was  high, 
and  his  drab-colored  hair  was  thin.  He  wore  a 
dark  cutaway  coat,  dark  trousers,  a  brown,  heavy 
overcoat  of  light  weight,  and  a  Derby  hat.  He 
was  about  thirty-five  years  of  age.  Simons 
approached  a  salesman,  and  asked  to  see  some 
furniture,  carpets  and  a  large  trunk.  "  Give  me  the 
cheapest  kind  you've  got,"  he  said;  "  they're  only 
for  temporary  use."  The  salesman  accordingly 
showed  him  wfcat  he  inquired  for.  Simons  took 
the  first  things  that  he  came  to,  and  there  was  no 
bickering  about  the  prices  to  be  paid.  He  appar- 
ently was  "  well  fixed,"  showing  a  fat  roll  of  large 


134  THE   GREAT  CRONIN   MYSTERY 

bills.     The  salesman's  efforts  resulted  in  the  sale  of 
the  folio  wing  goods  at  the  prices  named: 

32  yards  of  carpet  at  35  cents $12.80 

trunk  (Becker,  "  40  No.  2  ") 3. 50 

out-aoor  mat i.oo 

small  hand  satchel i.oo 

chamber  suit 14. 50 

"solid  comfort  "  spring 1.50 

mattress,  excelsior  top 2.75 

pair  of  pillows 2.00 

bowl,  pitcher,  etc r 1.35 

lamp 50 

comforter i.oo 

cane  chair .65 

cane  rocker 1.95 

trunk  strap i.oo 

Total $45-5O 

A  curious  thing  about  the  sale  of  the  carpet  was 
the  fact  that  Simons  could  not  tell  how  large  his 
room  was.  "  I  guess,"  he  said,  "  that  thirty-two 
yards  will  be  plenty."  The  carpet  was  a  cheap 
ingrain. 

"  Where  shall  I  have  the  goods  sent?  "  asked  the 
salesman. 

"  I  don't  know,"  returned  Simons.  "  You  keep 
them  here,  and  I'll  take  a  memorandum  of  them." 

This  he  did. 

"  I  will  come  here,"  he  went  on,  "  to-morrow  or 
next  day,  and  give  you  my  address. " 

The  next  day  Simons  returned,  and  told  the 
salesman  to  send  his  purchases  to  117  South  Clark 
street,  rooms  12  and  15.  "  And,"  he  said,  "  send 
along  a  man  to  put  the  carpet  down."  "* 

Then  he  went  away;  but  the  next  day  he  came 


FURTHER   CLUES 


'35 


back  and  said  that  the  trunk  strap  was  not  large 
enough  to  suit  him.  He  was  given  another,  very 
large  and  very  heavy,  for  which  he  paid  fifty  cents 
more  than  the  price  of  the  first  one  he  had  pur- 


Some  of  the  Furniture. 

chased.     That  was  the  last  of  Simons,  so  far  as 
Revell's  store  was  concerned. 

The  carpenter  accompanied  Mr.  Simons'  furni- 
ture and  household  goods  to  1 17  South  Clark  street, 
rooms  12  and  15.  There  are  two  rooms  bearing 
12  as  a  number,  in  the  building.  One  room,  the 


136  THE   GREAT  CRONIN   MYSTERY 

door  of  which  is  covered  with  Turkish  characters, 
is  on  the  second  floor.  This  was  not  the  room 
occupied  by  Simons.  Another  flight  of  stairs 
brings  one  to  a  sort  of  lodging  house  arrangement 
of  rooms.  No.  12  is  a  front  room,  and  No.  15 
adjoins  it  at  the  back.  There  the  carpet-layer 
found  a  short,  rather  stout  man,  of  dark  complex- 
ion, and  wearing  a  close-cropped  black  mustache, 
who  told  him  to  go  ahead  with  his  work.  This 
man,  whose  name  is  unknown,  but  whose  descrip- 
tion tallies  with  the  description  of  one  of  the 
"  brothers "  who  rented  "  murderers'  cottage," 
seemed  to  be  an  American.  He  had  no  noticeable 
accent  in  his  speech.  He  superintended  the  lay- 
ing the  carpet,  and  talked  a  good  deal  in  a  friendly 
way.  His  amiability  even  led  him  to  give  the  car- 
pet-layer a  cigar,  and  he  himself  smoked  The 
carpet  proved  to  be  too  long  by  several  yards,  for 
the  room.  "  I'll  cut  it  off,"  said  the  workman. 

"  Oh,  no,"  the  man  protested,  "  don't  cut  it  off. 
Turn  it  under.  I'd  much  rather  have  it  that  way. 
You  see,  this  is  only  temporary,  anyway.  I  may 
move  at  any  time. " 

The  large  Becker  packing  trunk,  which  Simons 
had  got,  in  answer  to  his  request  for  "  the  very 
largest  you  have,"  was  put  into  the  room,  and 
some  of  the  furniture  also  went  in,  the  remainder 
being  unloaded  in  No.  15. 

Simons  and  his  mysterious  companion  occupied 
rooms  12  and  15  just  three  weeks.  At  the  expira- 
tion of  that  they  packed  up,  bag  and  baggage,  paid 
the  rent  that  was  due,  and  got  an  expressman  to 


FURTHER   CLUES  137 

carry  their  belongings  away.  They  informed  no 
one  of  their  destination,  but  there  is  no  doubt  that 
the  furniture  was  moved  to  "  murderers' cottage," 
on  North  Ashland  avenue,  at  that  time. 

The  present  occupants  of  the  top  floor  of  117 
Clark  street  moved  in  about  April  23d,  and  know 
absolutely  nothing  save  what  they  have  heard  about 
the  previous  occupants.  Rooms  12  and  15  are 
comfortably  fitted  up  as  lodging-rooms,  and,  singu- 
larly enough,  15  was  occupied  until  last  Wednesday 
by  a  man  named  Williams.  This  at  first  startled 
the  police,  but  fuller  inquiry  satisfied  them  that  he 
had  no  connection  with  the  case.  He  was  young, 
and  spare  in  build,  and  the  landlady  used  to  read 
letters  he  received  from  his  mother  in  Ohio. 

James  M.  Marshall,  of  Knight  &  Marshall,  who 
had  the  renting  of  1 17  Clark  street,  was  interviewed 
last  night.  He  has  but  an  imperfect  recollectoin 
of  the  strange  man  who  rented  the  top  floor,  and 
cannot  remember  his  name. 

"Mr.  Throckmorton,  our  cashier,  called  my 
attention  to  the  matter,"  said  Mr.  Marshall,  "and 
asked  if  we  had  better  rent  the  rooms  for  so  short 
a  time.  That  was  the  only  time  I  ever  saw  the 
man.  I  remember  him  as  a  medium-sized  man, 
fairly  well  dressed,  and  what  would  be  termed  an 
ordinary  looking  man  in  comfortable  circumstances. 
My  impression  is  that  he  gave  the  name  of  Simons, 
but  I  could  not  tell  without  referring  to  the  books. 
He  called  to  see  about  renting  the  rooms  February 
ipth.  The  janitor  showed  him  all  the  rooms  on 
the  upper  floor.  They  are  arranged  for  living  pur- 


138  THE   GREAT   CRONIN  MYSTERY 

poses,  and  have  been  generally  rented  to  people 
with  families.  He  asked  the  price  of  one  or  two 
rooms,  and  came  to  the  office  and  had  a  talk  with 
Mr.  Throckmorton,  who  referred  him  to  me.  He 
told  me  he  wanted  a  quiet  place  for  a  few  weeks. 
A  friend  of  his  was  sick,  and  was  coming  to  Chi- 
cago for  treatment,  and  he  wanted  to  find  a  nice, 
quiet  place  for  him.  He  finally  said  that  he 
believed  he  would  take  the  whole  floor  if  the  rent 
was  not  too  high,  and  asked  what  I  would  charge  a 
month.  I  thought  it  over,  and  made  a  price  of  $42 
a  month  for  the  six  rooms.  He  did  not  quibble 
about  the  price,  and  I  told  Mr.  Throckmorton  to 
make  out  a  lease  to  April  30,  1889. 

"  After  he  left  the  office,"  continued  Mr.  Mar- 
shall, "  I  got  to  thinking  about  it,  but  concluded 
that  we  could  not  lose  anything.  The  man  told 
me  he  was  a  stranger  in  the  city  and  could  give  no 
references,  but  would  pay  cash  in  advance.  It  was 
near  the  end  of  the  renting  year,  and  I  thought  we 
might  as  well  take  the  $42  a  month  for  the  remain- 
ing six  weeks.  I  forgot  all  about  the  affair  until 
one  day  the  painter  informed  me  that  the  man  on 
the  top  floor  had  vacated  the  premises.  This  was 
March  iQth,  the  day  on  which  the  rent  was  due. 
The  janitor  did  not  know  exactly  when  the  man 
moved  out.  He  found  the  doors  unlocked  and  the 
rooms  vacant.  The  strange  occupant  may  have 
been  gone  three  or  four  days.  We  soon  rented  the 
rooms  to  the  people  now  occupying  them." 

Mr.  Throckmorton,  the  cashier  and  bookkeeper, 
who  made  out  the  lease  and  gave  the  stranger  a 


FURTHER   CLUES  139 

receipt  for  the  money,  could  not  be  found  last 
night.  He  can  probably  give  a  full  description  of 
the  man,  and  the  lease  contains  his  signature.  The 
name  is  doubtless  a  fictitious  one,  but  the  hand- 
writing on  the  lease  may  serve  as  a  valuable  clue. 
One  of  the  strangest  things  about  the  Cronin 
mystery  is  a  remarkable  and  curious  coincidence  — 
if,  indeed,  it  be  a  coincidence.  It  will  be  remem- 
bered that  one  of  the  "  brothers "  who  hired 
"  murderers'  cottage "  gave  his  name  as  Frank 
Williams.  On  April  24,  Alex.  H.  Revell  &  Co. 
sold  a  Becker  trunk,  "  40,  No.  2,"  identical  with 
the  trunk  that  was  sold  to  Simons,  as  well  as  with 
the  trunk  that  was  found  in  Lake  View,  to  one  T. 
F.  Williams.  Williams  was  a  man  about  five  feet 
and  eight  inches  in  height,  weighing  about  150 
pounds,  whose  hair  and  complexion  were  of  a 
neutral  color,  and  who  wore  a  reddish  brown 
mustache.  The  young  woman  who  sold  him  the 
trunk  says,  that  he  was  about  thirty-five  years  of 
age,  and  she  affirms  that  his  clothing  was  not  of  a 
character  to  attract  attention.  He  had  the  trunk 
sent  to  327  Fifty-fifth  street,  Hyde  Park.  A  detail 
of  reporters  for  the  Herald  was  sent  out  to  inter- 
view Mr.  Williams.  It  was  late  at  night,  and  con- 
siderable difficulty  was  experienced  in  finding  the 
house  bearing  the  number  327.  After  the  door- 
bell had  been  rung  repeatedly,  a  head  was  put  out 
from  a  window  in  the  second  story,  and  an  inquiry 
concerning  the  business  of  the  midnight  disturbers 
was  launched  through  the  darkness.  According  to 
the  voice,  T.  F.  Williams  had  his  abode  there,  and 


I4O  THE   GREAT  CRONIN  MYSTERY 

a  demand  for  a  conversation  with  that  gentleman 
was  followed  by  the  abrupt  disappearance  of  the 
talking  head.  Within  fifteen  minutes  the  door 
was  unlocked  and  unbolted,  a  picturesque  figure  in 
a  red  undershirt  and  negligee  trousers  was  wafted 
through  the  doorway,  and  the  door  was  carefully 
locked  again. 

"  Well,"  he  said,  "  what  do  you  want?  " 

The  reporter's  errand  was  made  plain  to  him,  as 
it  was  thought. 

"  I  don't  understand  such  talk,"  he  replied; 
"  what  do  you  want?  " 

Then  the  question  was  bluntly  put  to  him:  "  Did 
you,  on  April  24th,  buy  a  trunk — a  large  packing 
trunk  —  from  Revell's  store?  " 

"  What  business  is  it  of  yours  whether  I  did  or 
not?  Who  are  you,  anyhow?  How  do  I  know 
you  are  reporters?  What  have  you  got  to  show 
for  it?" 

Credentials  were  produced,  and,  after  consider- 
able hesitation,  and  still  never  an  affirmation  or  a 
denial,  "  Well,"  he  said,  "  come  on."  Then  he  un- 
locked the  door,  and  the  newspaper  men  stumbled 
up-stairs  in  the  darkness.  In  a  little  back  room  a 
lamp  was  burning.  A  gray  cap,  with  the  letters 
"  S.  P.  P."  on  the  front,  lay  on  the  bed. 

"There!"  he  exclaimed  triumphantly,  his  arm 
outstretched,  and  his  fingers  pointing  to  a  trunk.  It 
was  the  exact  image  of  the  Lake  View  trunk,  with 
the  exception  that  the  mark  of  the  manufacturer, 
Becker,  was  not  upon  the  outside  of  the  bottom. 
The  trunk  was  nearly  empty,  and  another,  a  travel- 


FURTHER   CLUES  HI 

ing  trunk,  was  nearly  full.  During  the  re-examina- 
tion one  of  the  reporters  remarked  pleasantly,  "  Mr. 
Williams  is  a  South  Park  policeman." 

"  Didn't  you  know  that?  "  he  returned.  "  Why, 
I  bought  that  trunk  when  I  was  in  full  uniform,  cap 
and  all. "  The  young  woman  from  whom  he  bought 
the  trunk,  it  may  be  recalled,  is  positive  in  her 
statement,  that  Williams  was  dressed  inconspicu- 
ously when  he  made  the  purchase.  And  why  a 
South  Park  policeman,  living  in  a  single  little  room, 
should  want  a  huge  packing  box,  although  it  may 
perhaps  be  readily  explained,  is  not  easy  to  see. 

"  What  does  your  middle  initial  stand  for,  Mr. 
Williams?"  was  inquired.  He  did  not  immediately 
reply.  "  Does  it  stand  for  Frank?  " 

"  Oh,  no,"  he  said;  and,  after  fully  twenty  sec- 
onds, he  went  on:  "It  stands  for  Fuller."  It  is 
not  certain  that  he  said  "  Fuller,"  but  the  word  re- 
sembled that  word  in  sound.  That  was  ah1,  and 
the  newspaper  men  gracefully  withdrew. 

Now,  all  this  seems  trivial  enough,  and  it  indu- 
bitably would  justly  seem  trivial  if  it  were  not  for 
a  conversation  that  passed  between  Superintend- 
ent of  Police  Hubbard  and  a  member  of  the  firm  of 
Alex.  H.  Revell  &  Co. 

"  Do  you  know,  chief,"  said  the  merchant,  yes- 
terday, "  along  in  April  we  sold  a  Becker  trunk  to 
a  man  named  T.  F.  Williams,  out  on  Fifty-fifth 
street?  " 

"  Good  God!  "  the  chief  ejaculated,  as  he  jumped 
excitedly  out  of  his  chair;  "  you  don't  say  so !  Why, 
did  you  know  that  for  the  past  two  weeks  I've  been 


142  THE   GREAT  CRONIN   MYSTERY 

working  a  force  of  detectives  in  the  neighborhood 
of  Fiftieth  street?  It's  this  Cronin  business,  you 
understand.  Well,  I'll  be  blanked!  Tell  me  all 
you  know  about  this  Williams  and  the  trunk." 

The  trunk-seller  complied  with  the  request,  and, 
when  he  concluded,  the  chief  told  him  his  theory  of 
the  matter. 

From  another  source  it  was  learned  what  this 
theory  upon  which  Superintendent  Hubbard  is 
working  is.  The  man  Simons  and  his  companion, 
the  theory  goes,  made  their  preparations  to  commit 
the  murder,  rented  "  murderers' cottage,"  first  buy- 
ing the  trunk,  the  furniture  and  the  carpets  as  a 
precaution.  Then  they  rented  the  cottage,  after  a 
long  search  for  a  suitable  place,  and  moved  their 
goods  into  it.  Now  they  were  ready  to  do  the 
deed.  But  they  did  not  at  once  find  an  opportu- 
nity to  get  Dr.  Cronin  into  their  hands,  and  that 
opportunity  did  not  come  soon.  For  some  unre- 
vealed  reason  they  became  alarmed  for  the  success 
of  their  plans,  and  they  arranged  for  a  slaughter 
house  in  the  south  end  of  town.  They  secured 
such  a  place  in  the  vicinity  of  Fiftieth  street,  and 
bought  another  trunk  in  order  to  save  the  trouble 
and  avoid  the  danger  of  carting  their  first-bought 
trunk  over  town  from  Lake  View.  The  North  Side 
house  was  originally  procured  with  a  view  to  throw- 
ing suspicion  on  P.  O.  Sullivan,  and  it  was  not  for 
some  time  that  they  learned,  by  chance,  of  Cronin's 
contract  with  the  iceman.  Fortune  seemed  to 
favor  them  in  the  matter  of  this  contract,  and  it 
was  this  that  determined  them  to  commit  murder 


FURTHER    CLUES  143 

in  their  Lake  View  house,  which  was  located, 
through  no  design  of  theirs,  very  near  Sullivan's 
house.  Using  Sullivan's  business  card  as  a  decoy, 
they  entrapped  the  physician  and  killed  him.  The 
assassins,  after  they  had  disposed  of  the  body, 
entered  a  small  boat  and  rowed  out  to  a  sailing 
vessel,  which  was  awaiting  them,  and  started  at 
once  for  Canada.  Arrived  in  Toronto,  they  pro- 
cured to  be  telegraphed  to  Chicago  the  reports  that 
Dr.  Cronin,  alive  and  well,  had  been  seen  there,  in 
order  to  throw  the  police  and  the  public  off  the 
scent. 

All  this,  let  it  be  understood,  is  merely  a  theory 
upon  which  the  police  department  is  at  work. 


144  THE  GREAT  CRONIN  MYSTERY 

CHAPTER  XVI. 

THE  WHITE  HORSE  AND  BUGGY  FOUND. 

DISCOVERIES  seemed  to  be  coming  in  thick  and 
last.  In  the  Times,  under  the  date  of  May  25th, 
I  read  the  following: 

The  white  horse  and  the  buggy  which  carried 
the  man  who  lured  Dr.  Cronin  to  his  atrocious 
death  have  been  discovered,  and  the  man  who 
ordered  this  rig,  according  to  the  story  of  the 
livery-stable  keeper,  is  a  detective  in  the  employ  of 
the  Chicago  police  force,  and  his  name  is  Daniel 
Coughlin. 

The  circumstances  which  surround  this  discovery 
admit  of  no  refutation.  They  are  as  plain  as  day. 
A  Chicago  detective,  now  detailed  at  the  East  Chi- 
cago Avenue  Station,  was  the  man  who,  the  morn- 
ing of  Saturday,  May  4th,  called  upon  Patrick  Di- 
nan,  at  his  livery  stable,  260  North  Clark  street.  He 
gave  notice  that  a  "  friend  "  would  call  about  seven 
that  evening,  and  that  he  was  to  be  given  a  horse 
and  buggy. 

"  If  you  give  him  the  rig,  I  will  pay  for  it,"  said 
the  officer. 

That  evening  the  "  friend  "  called,  and  Mr.  Dinan 
ordered  a  white  horse  —  now  an  historical  animal 
—  to  be  hitched  to  a  buggy.  At  the  same  time 
another  client  of  Mr.  Dinan's  was  having  a  sorrel 
horse  hitched  to  another  vehicle. 

"  I  would  rather  have  that  horse,"  suggested  the 


THE   WHITE    HORSE   AND    BUGGY   FOUND     H5 

"  friend,"  "  and  I  would  also  like  to  have  that  buggy, 
because  it  has  side  curtains." 

He  was  told  that  he  could  have  neither,  as  both 
the  horse  and  buggy  which  had  suited  his  purpose 
had  been  engaged  for  sometime  in  advance. 

"  Then  put  side  curtains  on  my  buggy,"  persisted 
Coughlin's  friend. 

Even  this  demand  was  denied,  there  being  no 
side  curtains  in  the  stable. 

Mr.   Dinan   described  the  man  as  being  about 


The  Coroner's  Jury, 

thirty-five  years  of  age,  and  of  ordinary  height  and 
build.  He  had  a  week's  growth  of  beard  on  his 
face,  and  wore  a  soft  felt  hat  with  a  narrow  turned- 
up  brim. 

At  about  7:15  o'clock  the  man  left  the  stable 
with  the  rig  and  drove  north  on  Clark  street. 
According  to  Frank  Scanlan,  it  was  five  minutes 
thereafter  when  the  stranger  drove  to  470  North 
Clark  street  and  informed  Dr.  Cronin  that  he  was 
wanted  at  Sullivan's  ice  house. 

Cronin  Mystery  to 


146      THE  GREAT  CRONIN  MYSTERY 

Dr.  Cronin  was  never  again  seen  until  his  body 
was  found  last  Wednesday. 

The  white  horse  and  the  buggy  were  returned  to 
the  stable  by  Coughlin's  friend  at  9:30,  or  just  two 
hours  and  fifteen  minutes  after  they  had  been  hired. 

Mr.  Dinan  says  he  thought  nothing  more  of  the 
matter  until  Monday  morning,  when  the  papers 
began  to  publish  Dr.  Cronin's  mysterious  disap- 
pearance and  the  peculiar  connection  of  a  white 
horse  and  a  buggy  with  the  sensation.  Then  Mr. 
Dinan  became  suspicious  of  the  trip  his  own  white 
horse  had  made  under  the  guidance  of  Detective 
Coughlin's  "  friend."  He  went  at  once  to  the 
East  Chicago  Avenue  Station  to  tell  Captain 
Schaack  of  the  curious  coincidence.  He  found 
Detective  Coughlin.  This  man  at  once  grabbed 
him>  and,  taking  him  aside,  cautioned  him  not  to 
say  anything  about  the  affair  of  Saturday  night, 
because,  not  being  on  good  terms  with  Dr.  Cronin, 
some  people  might  think  he  had  something  to  do 
with  the  disappearance. 

Mr.  Dinan  was  still  uneasy.  He  told  Captain 
Schaack  his  story,  and  insisted  that  a  full  report 
be  made  to  Chief  Hubbard.  But,  becoming  sus- 
picious that  the  report  had  not  been  made,  he  called 
upon  the  chief  himself. 

Representatives  of  the  Times  called  on  P.  Dinan, 
who  lives  over  his  stables  at  260  North  Clark  street, 
last  night.  The  callers  were  conducted  to  the  front 
room.  The  hour  was  late,  and  Mr.  Dinan,  who  had 
arisen  from  his  bed,  was  in  his  shirt-sleeves.  The 


CHIEF    OF    POLICE    HUBBARD. 


THE   WHITE   HORSE  AND   BUGGY   FOUND      147 

first  question  asked  Mr.  Dinan  was:  "  Do  you  know 
Detective  Coughlin?" 

The  question  seemed  to  stagger  Mr.  Dinan 
momentarily.  He  paused  and  turned  a  trifle  pale. 
The  question  was  put  without  any  intimation  of 
what  was  to  follow,  and  he  was  on  the  point  of  de- 
nying that  he  knew  Coughlin.  Indeed,  the  denial 
was  on  his  lips,  but  he  checked  the  half-uttered 
words,  and  said:  "  Yes;  I  know  him." 

"  Do  you  know  that  Coughlin  was  called  before 
Chief  of  Police  Hubbard  to-day?  " 

Mr.  Dinan  acted  uneasily,  but  he  answered  readily 
enough:  "No;  I  did  not  know  of  it." 

"  You  have  had  some  business  dealings  with 
Coughlin?" 

"  Oh,  yes.  I  have  been  in  business  since  '71, 
and  the  officers  often  get  rigs  from  me." 

"  Did  Coughlin  ever  ask  you  to  '  keep  your  mouth 
shut?'" 

"No,  sir." 

"  If  an  affidavit  were  sworn  to  that  he  had  said 
that  to  you,  the  affidavit  would  be  false,  would  it  ? 
Now,  didn't  he  say  something  of  that  kind  to  you 
in  inquiring  about  a  white  horse  ?  " 

"  I  believe  something  of  that  kind  was  said." 

"  Did  he  say  that  there  was  danger  that  he  would 
get  into  trouble  ?  " 

"  Well,  I'll  tell  you  how  it  was.  He  did  say  that 
he  wanted  me  to  keep  still  about  it,  because  it 
might  get  him  into  trouble.  He  said  Dr.  Cronin 
and  himself  were  not  good  friends  —  there  had 
been  some  trouble  between  them  —  and  he  might 


148  THE   GREAT  CRONIN   MYSTERY 

get  into  some  trouble  over  the  doctor's  disap- 
pearance." 

"  Did  you  see  Coughlin  the  Saturday  that  Ur. 
Cronin  was  abducted  ?  " 

"  Yes.  He  came  here  that  Saturday  morning. 
The  officers  often  come  to  me  for  horses  when  they 
are  on  some  case.  He  said  to  me:  '  A  party  will 
come  here  to-night  for  a  horse.  Let  him  have 
one.'" 

"  Those  were  his  exact  words  ?  " 

"  He  said  '  A  friend  of  mine  will  come  for  a 
horse.  Just  let  him  have  one.'  " 

"  What  time  did  this  friend  of  Coughlin's  come 
for  the  horse?  " 

"  About  7:30  o'clock.  I  had  been  sent  out,  and 
come  in  when  he  was  at  the  stable.  The  man  said: 
'  I  want  that  horse  ordered  for  me  by  Coughlin.' 
Blacksmith  Jones  was  here  at  the  time,  getting  a 
horse,  too.  My  men  had  put  a  harness  on  a  high- 
strung  sorrel  horse  for  Jones;  but  I  made  them  take 
the  harness  off,  because  the  horse  had  never  been 
driven  single.  I  told  the  men  to  lead  out  the  old 
white  horse  for  Coughlin's  friend.  When  they  did 
that,  he  objected,  and  said  he  wanted  the  sorrel  that 
he  had  seen  prepared  for  Jones.  I  refused  to  let 
him  have  that  horse." 

"  Please  describe  the  white  horse." 

"  It  is  an  old  horse  —  a  faded  white.  When 
Coughlin  ordered  the  rig,  I  asked  him  what  kind 
of  one  to  give  the  man,  and  he  said  anything  would 
do.  That's  why  I  thought  the  old  white  horse  would 
answer  the  purpose." 


THE   WHITE   HORSE   AND    BUGGY   FOUND     149 

"  Can  you  describe  the  man  who  got  the  white 
horse?" 

"  Um  —  m.  N  —  no.  I  didn't  take  his  descrip- 
tion, because  the  officers  always  told  me,  when  they 
sent  for  a  horse,  to  keep  still,  ask  no  questions,  and 
pay  no  attention  to  the  men  sent." 

Later  on  during  the  conversation  Mr.  Dinan 
gave  a  most  minute  description  of  this  very 
man. 

"  What  time  was  the  horse  returned?  " 

"  I  was  out  for  a  moment  at  the  time  the  horse 
came  back,  but  the  men  told  me  the  rig  was  in,  and 
that  he  arrived  at  the  barn  at  9 : 1  o  or  9 : 1 5 . " 

"  At  what  time  did  Coughlin's  friend  call  for  the 
horse?  " 

"  About  ten  minutes  past  seven  o'clock." 

"  Which  way  did  the  man  drive  from  the 
barn?  " 

"Directly  north." 

"  Who  paid  for  the  horse  and  buggy?  " 

"  Coughlin  was  to  pay  for  it. " 

"  Did  the  officers  come  to  see  you  about  the 
horse  after  Dr.  Cronin's  disappearance  attracted 
attention?  " 

"  Yes.  The  next  Monday  morning  a  policeman 
in  uniform  came  here.  He  asked  if  any  white  horse 
went  out  the  previous  Saturday  evening.  I  was  in 
bed,  but  sent  him  word  that  no  such  horse  had  gone 
from  the  barn." 

"  Why  did  you  do  that?  " 

"  The  officers  were  always  particular,  you  know, 
and  so  I  didn't  tell  the  policeman." 


I$0  THE   GREAT   CRONIN  MYSTERY 

"  Did  you  ever  tell  the  officials  about  sending 
out  the  horse  with  Coughlin's  friend?  " 

"  When  the  newspapers  began  writing  up  Dr. 
Cronin's  disappearance,  and  mentioned  the  white 
horse,  I  began  to  feel  uneasy.  I  went  to  the  Chi- 
cago Avenue  Station  to  see  Captain  Schaack.  I 
didn't  see  him,  but  I  did  see  Coughlin.  He  said 
to  me:  '  I  have  asked  about  this  white  horse. 
Keep  still  about  it  till  I  hear  more  about  it.  Cronin 
and  I  ain't  good  friends,  and  this  thing  may  make 
talk  and  cause  me  trouble.'  A  few  days  later  I 
saw  him  again.  He  said  he  had  had  a  job  finding 
his  friend  that  got  the  horse.  His  friend  had  gone 
to  New  Mexico,  he  said.  He  had  collected  three 
dollars  to  pay  for  the  horse  from  his  friend,  but  had 
spent  it.  He  said  he  would  settle  some  other 
time." 

"  Was  anything  else  done?  " 

"  I  went  to  see  Schaack  about  it  one  day,  and  he 
said  he  would  attend  to  it.  I  didn't  hear  anything 
from  him,  so  I  went  to  Lieutenant  Horace  Elliott, 
whom  I  have  known  for  years.  He  took  me  to 
Chief  Hubbard.  Hubbard  said  Captain  Schaack 
had  told  him  about  it.  After  that  I  felt  easy. 
Captain  Schaack  took  the  white  horse  out  one 
night  to  have  it  identified,  he  said.  When  he 
returned  he  declared  it  wasn't  the  horse  that  was 
driven  to  Dr.  Cronin's." 

The  interview  was  practically  over.  As  the 
parting  words  were  being  said,  Mr.  Dinan,  forget- 
ting, perhaps,  that  he  had  denied  his  ability  to  do 
so,  described  the  man  who  came  for  the  white 


THE  WHITE  HORSE  AND  BUGGY  FOUND  !$! 

horse  as  Coughlin's  friend.  This  is  Mr.  Dinan's 
description :  "  He  was  a  small  man  —  about  five  feet 
six  inches  tall,  I  guess.  He  wore  a  small  soft  hat 
with  a  rather  narrow  brim.  He  had  a  mustache, 
and  evidently  had  not  been  shaved  for  several  days. 
He  looked  like  a  workingman,  and  was  about  thirty- 
five  years  old.  He  may  have  been  anywhere  from 
thirty-three  to  thirty-eight  years." 

Frank  Scanlan  was  the  last  friend  of  Dr.  Cronin 
who  saw  him  alive.  Mr.  Scanlan  says:  "  As  I 
passed  the  corner  of  Division  and  Clark  streets,  I 
looked  at  the  clock  in  the  tower  of  the  street-car 
offices.  It  was  exactly  7:20.  I  knew,  if  I  reached 
Dr.  Cronin's  office  before  7-30,!  would  find  him  in, 
for  he  was  very  methodical.  I  met  him  at  the 
street  door.  He  told  me  he  had  been  called  to 
attend  one  of  Sullivan's  men,  and  jumped  into  the 
buggy.  We  were  to  have  had  a  meeting,  and  I 
called  to  him  to  give  me  the  keys  to  his  down-town 
office.  I  caught  them  as  he  threw  them  out  of  the 
buggy.  I  ran  along  six  or  seven  steps  beside  the 
buggy,  asking  him  which  was  the  key.  The  man 
driving  the  horse  looked  at  me  in  an  angry  man- 
ner. He  was  a  small  man.  He  wore  a  small, 
round  soft  hat  with  a  narrow  brim.  He  had  a 
darkish  mustache  and  hadn't  been  shaved  recently. 
He  looked  about  thirty-five  years  old." 

No  two  descriptions  could  tally  better  than  that 
given  by  Mr.  Scanlan  of  the  man  who  lured  Dr. 
Cronin  away  and  that  given  by  Mr.  Dinan  of 
Coughlin's  friend. 

The  last  thing  Mr.  Dinan  said  was:  "The  man 


152  THE   GREAT   CRONIN   MYSTERY 

who  got  the  white  horse  wanted  side  curtains  on 
the  buggy.  I  told  him  we  had  none,  and  that  no 
one  could  see  in  after  dark.  He  grumbled,  but  said 
he  couldn't  wait,  so  he  drove  away." 


SOME   ARRESTS  r53 

CHAPTER  XVII. 

SOME  ARRESTS! 

ON  the  25th  of  May,  Detective  Dan  Coughlin 
was  locked  up  in  the  Armory  Police  Station.  The 
facts  that  had  been  discovered  from  Dinan  seemed 
to  warrant  the  arrest. 


Detective  Dan  Coughlin. 

The  story  that  he  told  to  the  effect  that  he 
had  engaged  the  buggy  for  a  friend  by  the  name  of 
Smith,  was  afterward  found  to  be  untrue.  On  the 
26th  inst.,  Peter  McGeehan,  who  mysteriously  dis- 
appeared from  Philadelphia  three  months  before 
the  murder,  and  who  was  said  to  be  a  bad  man,  was 
also  taken  into  custody.  Further  investigation, 
however,  went  to  prove  that  he  was  in  Pullman 
upon  the  night  of  the  murder. 

On  the  night  of  the  2/th,  Detective  Coughlin  and 
P.  O.  Sullivan,  the  iceman,  were  formally  arrested 
on  a  warrant  sworn  out  by  John  Joseph  Cronin,  a 
brother  of  the  murdered  man,  which  read  as  follows: 


154  THE   GREAT   CRONIN   MYSTERY 

State  of  Illinois,  County  of  Cook,  City  of  Chicago,  ss. — The 
complaint  and  information  of  John  Joseph  Cronin,  in  said  county, 
made  before  George  Kersten,  Esq.,  one  of  the  justices  of  the  peace  in 
and  for  said  county,  on  the  zyth  day  of  May,  1889.  Said  complain- 
ant, being  duly  sworn,  upon  his  oath,  says  that  Daniel  Coughlin  and 
Patrick  O.  Sullivan,  on  or  about  the  4th  day  of  May,  A.  D.  1889,  in 
county  and  State  aforesaid,  feloniously,  maliciously  and  willfully  did 
conspire  and  agree,  together  with  a  number  of  persons  whose  names 
are  unknown  to  said  affiant,  to  kill  and  murder  one  Patrick  Henry 
Cronin,  and,  in  furtherance  of  said  conspiracy,  the  said  Daniel  Cough- 
lin and  Patrick  O.  Sullivan,  and  a  number  of  persons  whose  names 
are  unknown  to  said  affiant,  did  feloniously,  maliciously,  willfully,  and 
unlawfully,  and  with  malice  aforethought,  on  the  4th  day  of  May,  A.D. 
1889,  and  in  said  county  and  State,  kill  and  murder  the  said  Patrick 
Henry  Cronin,  contrary  to  the  form  of  the  statutes  in  such  cases  made 
and  provided.  That  this  complainant  has  just  and  reasonable  grounds 
to  believe,  that  said  Daniel  Coughlin,  Patrick  O.  Sullivan  and  a  num- 
ber of  other  persons  whose  names  are  unknown,  committed  said  offense, 
and  therefore  prays  that  they  may  be  arrested  and  dealt  with  accord- 
ing to  law. 

JOHN  JOSEPH  CRONIN. 

Subscribed  and  sworn  to  before  me  this  27th  day  of  May,  A.  D. 
1889. 

GEORGE  KERSTEN, 

"Justice  of  the  Peace. 

Iceman  Sullivan  was  arrested  on  the  warrant 
after  eating  his  supper  at  home,  and  was  held  a 
prisoner  in  Lake  View.  Having  no  lawyer  to  make 
an  attempt  to  see  him,  he  was  not  brought  before 
a  justice  and  formally  bound  over. 

It  was  suspected  in  police  circles  last  night  that 
the  officers  at  work  upon  the  case  had  succeeded  in 
getting  Coughlin  identified  either  as  the  tall  man 
who  rented  the  Carslon  cottage  or  as  one  of  the 
trio  who  made  it  their  rendezvous.  Over  on  the 
North  Side  this  opinion  did  not  prevail,  and  it  was 
said  Coughlin  would  have  no  trouble  whatever  in 


SOME   ARRESTS 


155 


accounting  for  his  whereabouts  the  Saturday  night 
of  the  murder. 

At  12:05  ex-Detective  Coughlin  walked  into  the 
main  office  of  the  jail  in  charge  of  Captain  Bartram, 
and  attended  by  a  train  of  reporters.  He  marched 
up  to  the  desk  in  a  perfectly  unconcerned  manner, 
and  watched  Night  Jailer  Thomas  C.  Turner  as  he 
made  the  usual  entries  in  the  prison  register. 

"  Well,"  said  the  late  detective,  pleasantly,  "  it  is 
about  bed-time,  ain't  it?  " 


Peter  McGehan. 

He  was  assured  he  could  soon  have  an  opportu- 
nity to  go  to  bed,  and  stay  as  long  as  he  liked. 

"  Search  the  prisoner,"  said  the  jailer,  with  the 
same  lack  of  emotion  which  marks  his  treatment  of 
common  felons,  and  Deputy  George  Reich  went 
through  the  pockets  of  the  accused,  carefully  search- 
ing for  any  forbidden  articles.  Coughlin  made  no 
objection  to  the  process,  nonchalantly  smoking  an 
ordinary  cigar. 


156 


THE  GREAT  CRONIN  MYSxERY 


"  Well,  good  night,  boys,"  said  the  prisoner,  and 
he  turned  from  the  desk,  and  was  conducted  to  the 
body  of  the  jail  by  the  keeper,  where  he  was  con- 
signed to  cell  No.  25,  which  is  in"  murderers' row." 
He  declined  to  make  any  statement,  and,  when 
questioned  by  the  reporter,  simply  said  he  had 
"  nothing  to  say." 


P.  O'Sullivan. 

Early  in  the  day  Sullivan  was  closeted  at  the 
Lake  View  Police  Station  with  Captain  Wing,  Cap- 
tain Schaack,  Lieutenant  Schuettler,  and  Mayor 
Boldenweck.  Mayor  Boldenweck,  who  knows 
Sullivan  well,  and  has  some  influence  over  him, 
told  Sullivan  it  was  best  for  him  to  tell  everything, 
as  it  would  be  found  out  anyhow,  and  Sullivan  took 
the  advice.  He  confessed  he  had  known  Coughlin 


SOME   ARRESTS  157 

for  years,  instead  of  having  become  acquainted 
with  him  only  since  the  murder.  He  also  admitted 
that  he  was  a  member  of  the  Clan-na-Gael  in  good 
standing,  and  was  present  at  Lincoln  Hall,  501 
Lincoln  avenue,  the  night  of  March  22  last,  when 
Cronin  and  others  initiated  several  new  members, 
taking  one  of  the  officers'  chairs.  He  was  con- 
fronted with  the  testimony  of  Justice  Mahoney  to 
the  effect  that  he  was  a  Clan-na-Gael  member  in 
good  standing,  and  he  did  not  deny  it. 

Sullivan  is  an  ex-street  car  conductor.  Detect- 
ive Coughlin  is  an  ex-street  car  driver.  When  Sul- 
livan was  in  the  employ  of  the  North  Side  Street 
Car  Company  he  became  acquainted,  as  was  nat- 
ural, with  many  detectives  and  policeman,  especially 
with  those  on  the  North  Side,  and  his  denials  here- 
tofore that  he  know  any  Chicago  detectives  or 
policemen  go  for  nothing.  He  also  worked  in  the 
iron  mines  of  Michigan,  and  in  this  way  became 
acquainted  with  the  relatives  of  Coughlin  in  Han- 
cock County. 

Captain  Wing  received  a  letter  yesterday  after- 
noon postmarked  Holly  Springs,  Miss.,  dated  May 
23d.  It  was  signed  "  P.  C.  R.,"  and  gave  Captain 
Wing  the  address  of  the  man  who  drove  the  wagon 
containing  the  trunk  (at  least  part  of  the  way)  from 
the  cottage  at  1878  North  Ashland  avenue  to  the 
catch-basin  at  Fifty-ninth  street  and  the  Evanston 
road,  where  the  corpse  was  found. 

Mayor  Cregier  and  Chief  Hubbard  were  in  secret 
consultation  in  the  latter's  office  until  1 130  o'clock 
this  morning.  Both  refused  to  give  any  informa- 


158      THE  GREAT  CRONIN  MYSTERY 

tion  as  to  the  result  of  the  conference,  though  it 
was  intimated  some  sensational  arrests  would  be 
made  this  forenoon. 


THE   TESTIMONY  I  59 

CHAPTER  XVIII. 

THE   TESTIMONY. 

THE  Chicago  Times,  of  Wednesday,  May  29th, 
published  the  following: 

The  testimony  as  elicited  before  the  grand  jury 
was  not  only  very  important,  but  thorough.  Each 
and  every  witness  summoned  was  put  through  a 
series  of  questions  such  as  called  up  their  remem- 
brance of  facts  from  the  greatest  to  the  smallest 
importance. 

The  chief  witness  was  the  milkman  Mertes. 
Said  he:  "  I  passed  the  Carlson  cottage,  1872 
Ashland  avenue,  on  the  night  of  the  murder.  I 
saw  a  buggy  containing  two  men  and  a  white  horse 
drive  up  to  the  door.  The  man  seated  on  the  left 
(the  horse  was  facing  north)  jumped  from  his  seat 
hastily  and  ran  up  the  steps.  He  carried  two 
packages.  Before  he  had  time  to  knock  at  the  door, 
it  was  opened,  it  seeming  to  me  that  some  one  was 
waiting  inside  the  hallway.  At  the  instant  the 
man  stepped  inside  the  door,  the  man  in  the  buggy 
whipped  up  and  drove  rapidly  north  to  the  first 
street,  when  he  turned  west  and  was  lost  to  sight. 
I  had  been  driving  past  the  cottage  when  I  saw 
the  man  in  the  buggy  (Cronin)  get  out  and  run  up 
the  steps,  and  the  buggy  drive  away.  After  at- 
tending to  my  business  at  a  grocery  near  by,  I  re- 
turned over  the  same  road  past  the  cottage  on  my 
way  home.  This  was  perhaps  thirty-five  minutes 


THE  GREAT  CRONIN  MYSTERY 

later.     I  saw  light  in  the  cottage,  and  heard  a  ham- 
mering or  smashing  sound." 

It  is  plainly  evident,  from  the  above  testimony, 
that  the  man  who  ran  so  rapidly  up  the  stairway 
was  Dr.  Cronin,  intent  only  on  rendering  succor  to 
some  dying  man.  The  "  hammering  or  smashing  " 
sound  referred  to  was  probably  the  breaking  up  of 
the  doctor's  instruments,  or  it  might  have  been  the 
moving  of  the  furniture  in  painting  the  floor. 


Young  Carlson  Watching  Sullivan  and  the  Unknown. 

The  next  witness  was  Carlson,  Sr.,  the  owner  of 
the  cottage. 

"  When  the  man  who  called  himself  Frank  Will- 
iams rented  my  cottage,  March  2Oth,  I  noticed  that 
he  went  over  and  talked  to  Sullivan,  the  iceman. 
He  apparently  talked  familiarly  with  him.  As  the 
month  of  April  approached  the  2Oth,  and  the  rent 
day  was  coming  near,  I  began  to  think  it  strange 


THE   TESTIMONY  l6l 

that  my  tenant  did  not  occupy  the  premises.  I 
wanted  a  reliable  tenant.  Seeing  the  man  talk  to 
Sullivan,  I  stepped  over  and  spoke  of  his  queer 
conduct  in  not  living  in  the  house  he  had  rented, 
and  added  that  I  felt  somewhat  anxious  about  my 
rent  and  the  permanency  of  the  tenant. 

"  '  He  is  all  right,'  said  Mr.  Sullivan  to  me. 
5  He  will  pay  you  all  right  enough  when  the  month 
is  up.'  Mr.  Sullivan  at  first  denied  that  he  ever 
saw  the  man." 

The  connection  of  Iceman  Sullivan  with  the 
Cronin  mystery,  and  the  cause  of  his  arrest  and 
detention,  are  here  made  plainly  apparent. 

Young  Carlson  was  the  next  witness  for  the  state. 

"  I  was  present  when  the  furniture  was  brought 
to  the  cottage  —  two  days  after  the  rental  —  March 
22d.  Two  men,  calling  themselves  Williams,  un- 
loaded the  truck.  The  driver  remained  seated  — 
he  did  not  handle  the  goods.  I  casually  stepped 
up  to  the  driver,  and  discovered  that  he  was  a 
Swede.  I  spoke  to  him  in  that  language,  and  he 
told  me  that  he  had  brought  the  furniture  from  117 
Clark  street.  The  driver  has  a  stand  on  East 
Chicago  avenue." 

The  story  of  the  men  who  rented  the  cottage 
having  formerly  roomed  at  117  Clark  street,  where 
the  furniture  was  taken  by  A.  H.  Revell  &  Co.,  is 
thus  verified. 

The  next  witness  was  one  of  importance.  She 
was  young  Mrs.  Carlson,  and  was  attired  in  deep 
black,  with  a  heavy  mourning  veil  covering  her 
face.  Said  she:  n 


1 62      THE  GREAT  CRONIN  MYSTERY 

"  I  visited  my  mother-in-law  March  20.  While 
at  their  house  —  a  cottage  which  sits  in  the  rear  of 
the  fatal  cottage  —  a  man  knocked  at  the  door  and 
entered.  He  came  from  the  back  part  of  the 
premises,  in  the  vicinity  of  Sullivan's  barn  or  house. 
He  said  he  desired  to  see  the  cottage,  which  was 
for  rent.  Old  Mr.  Carlson  took  him  over  and 
showed  him  about  the  place.  They  returned,  and 
the  man  said  he  would  take  the  cottage,  at  the 
same  time  producing  $12,  the  amount  of  the  first 
month's  re.nt.  He  gave  his  name  as  Frank  Will- 
iams. While  the  receipt  for  the  money  was  being 
made  out,  young  Mr.  Carlson  asked  Mr.  Williams 
what  his  business,  calling  or  profession  was.  This 
did  not  seem  to  suit  Williams,  for  he  looked  sul- 
lenly at  the  questioner  and  at  all  of  us,  and  then, 
lowering  his  eyes,  said:  '  I  am  employed  down- 
town.' I  remarked,  shortly  after  he  left,  that  he 
seemed  mad  at  the  question.  When  he  departed, 
he  did  not  go  to  the  front,  toward  Ashland  avenue, 
but  started  over  toward  Sullivan's. 

"  The  description  of  Frank  Williams,  as  I  recall 
it,  is  as  follows:  Medium  build,  perhaps  160  or  170 
pounds  in  weight,  five  feet  ten  and  a  half  or  eleven 
inches  tall,  dark  complexion,  black  hair,  black  eyes 
and  small  black  mustache,  dark  clothes  covered  by 
dark  overcoat.  He  wore  a  dark  hat,  but  whether  a 
felt  or  derby,  I  cannot  now  say.  He  seemed 
anxious  to  get  out  of  the  house." 

This  description  tallies  very  closely  with  that 
given  by  Woodruff  of  the  man  he  called  King,  and 
who,  he  said,  gave  him  the  trunk-hauling  job. 


THE  TESTIMONY  163 

Mrs.  Conklin,  when  called,  said: 

"  The  white  horse  and  buggy  which  was  driven 
by  my  door  on  Saturday  morning  last  by  a  Chicago 
Times  reporter  was  the  horse  and  buggy  which 
carried  away  Dr.  Cronin  the  last  time  he  was  seen 
alive.  I  identified  it  fully." 

The  Times  secured  the  horse  and  buggy  referred 
to  at  Dinan's  livery  stable,  260  North  Clark  street, 
for  the  express  purpose  of  having  Mrs.  Conklin 
identify  it.  She  did  so  positively  at  the  time. 
Dinan,  in  giving  the  Times  the  rig,  said,  "  That  is 
the  rig  Detective  Coughlin's  friend  got." 

Mr.  Conklin  testified  the  same  as  his  wife. 

In  view  of  these  facts  and  some  others,  which 
cannot  now  be  judiciously  published,  it  will  not  be 
at  all  surprising  if  a  big  batch  of  indictments  are 
turned  into  court  to-day. 

Frank  Woodruff,  alias  Frank  Black,  has  been 
taken  into  camp  by  Captain  Schaack,  and  he  has 
told  the  whole  story  of  his  connection  with  Dr. 
Cronin's  murder. 

According  to  the  statements  he  has  made  to  the 
North  Side  captain,  he  was  not  directly  connected 
with  the  murder  itself,  but  simply  acted  as  the 
driver  of  the  wagon  which  disposed  of  the  dead 
man's  body  in  the  catch-basin  where  it  was  found. 

At  daybreak  Sunday  morning  Capt.  Schaack,  in 
a  cab  driven  by  a  detective  of  the  Chicago  Avenue 
Station,  arrived  at  Indiana  and  Dearborn  streets, 
and,  after  waiting  several  minutes,  Woodruff, 
accompanied  by  a  jail  guard,  arrived.  He  was 
taken  into  the  vehicle  and  driven  to  the  scene  of 


1 64  THE   GREAT   CRONIN   MYSTERY 

Dr.  Cronin's  murder,  and  also  to  the  catch-basin 
and  the  place  where  the  trunk  was  found.  Wood- 
ruff himself  gave  the  driving  directions  to  the 
detective  who  managed  the  reins,  and  in  every 
instance  located  the  exact  places  where  the  chief 
acts  in  the  horrible  tragedy  occurred. 

According  to  his  confession,  he  was  directed  by 
those  who  had  charge  of  that  part  of  the  conspiracy, 
and  whose  names  Captain  Schaack  reserves  for 
reasons  that  are  palpable,  to  go  to  Dean's  livery 
stable,  where  he  would  obtain  a  horse  and  wagon. 
He  had  already  been  instructed  to  drive  the  outfit 
to  the  neighborhood  of  the  Carlson  cottage,  and  he 
also  knew  for  what  purpose  he  was  to  go  there. 

He  arrived  there  about  twenty  minutes  before 
Dr.  Cronin  was  driven  up,  and  placed  his  horse 
and  wagon  and  at  a  point  near  the  cottage,  where 
he  could  keep  his  eye  on  the  front  steps.  He  saw 
the  white-horse  rig  containing  Dr.  Cronin  and  his 
conductor,  and  three-quarters  of  an  hour  thereafter 
the  man  who  was  known  as  Williams  opened  the 
front  door  of  the  cottage  and  gave  the  signal  by 
stamping  his  foot  on  the  wooden  porch. 

Woodruff  at  once  drove  up,  and,  assisted  by  the 
third  man,  the  trunk  was  loaded  into  the  wagon. 
The  two  men  followed  the  trunk,  and  directed 
Woodruff,  who  continued  as  the  driver,  to  drive 
eastward  to  the  lake  to  a  certain  point  which  Wood- 
ruff has  designated  to  Captain  Schaack. 

The  wagon  headed  for  the  lake,  and  in  its  depths 
the  trunk  and  its  contents  would  have  been  de- 
posited had  not  the  interruption  come  from  the 


THE   TESTIMONY  165 

two  Lake  View  policemen.  This  smashed  the 
original  plans  of  the  two  men,  and  immediate  steps 
were  taken  to  get  out  of  the  officers'  way.  This 
was  done  by  taking  a  circuitous  route,  which 
again  brought  them  to  the  Evanston  road.  They 
had  now  been  driving  for  nearly  an  hour  with  their 
ghastly  load,  and  one  of  the  men  suggested  the 
sewer.  A  stop  was  made  at  the  Fifty-ninth  place 
intersection  of  the  Evanston  road.  The  top  was 
taken  from  the  man-hole  on  the  southeast  corner, 
and  the  trunk  lifted  from  the  wagon. 

It  was  then  a  new  and  unexpected  difficulty  pre- 
sented itself.  While  it  was  possible  to  drop  the 
trunk  with  the  body  into  the  lake,  it  became  a 
physical  impossibility  to  thus  dispose  of  the  load 
in  the  man-hole.  It  was  resolved  to  take  the  body 
out  of  the  trunk,  drop  the  body  in  the  catch-basin, 
and  return  with  the  trunk  to  the  cottage  and  burn 
it.  But,  when  the  trunk  was  to  be  unlocked,  it  was 
found  that  the  key  had  been  lost. 

Williams  said  there  was  no  more  time  to  be  lost, 
and  he  kicked  in  the  lid  of  the  trunk.  The  three 
lifted  the  body  out,  and  deposited  it  into  the  sewer, 
as  it  was  found.  The  trunk  was  again  placed  on 
the  wagon.  It  was  intended  to  go  south  for  a  dis- 
tance, and  then  to  drive  north  to  the  cottage  and 
there  deposit  the  trunk.  "  Right  here,"  said 
Woodruff  to  Capt.  Shaack,  pointing  to  the  exact 
spot  where  the  trunk  was  found,  "  we  heard  a  noise 
of  wagon  wheels  from  the  south,  and  the  two  men, 
one  of  whom  had  been  sitting  on  the  trunk,  picked 
up  the  box  and  threw  it  out  of  the  wagon,  and  I  was 


166  THE   GREAT   CRONIN   MYSTERY 

urged  to  whip  up  the  horse  and  drive  west.  When 
we  reached  Fullerton  avenue,  both  men  said  good- 
night to  me  and  left  the  wagon." 


LAID   AT  REST  167 

CHAPTER    XIX. 

LAID    AT    REST. 

DR.  CRONIN  was  laid  at  rest  on  Sunday,  May 
26th. 

The  following  account  is  from  the  Daily  News  : 

Dr.  Cronin's  funeral  yesterday  was  a  public 
demonstration  against  secret  assassination.  From 
one  end  of  the  procession  to  the  other,  through 
the  crowds  on  the  sidewalk,  in  the  cars  that  sped 
by  the  scene  of  the  murder,  ran  expressions  of 
horror  that  so  brutal  a  crime  could  have  been  com- 
mitted in  Chicago.  As  the  procession  moved 
through  the  streets,  and  the  muffled  drums  sent  a 
solemn  tremor  through  the  discordant  air,  thou- 
sands of  citizens  were  reminded  of  their  enemies, 
and  shuddered  lest  the  secret  bludgeon  lay  in  wait 
for  them.  The  murder  was  on  every  lip.  It  was 
discussed  in  its  every  phase.  The  black  horses 
and  fluttering  crape  were  its  visible  signs,  and 
nothing  else  was  talked  about. 

Dr.  Cronin's  body  was  lying  in  state  in  the  Cav- 
alry Armory  Saturday  afternoon  and  night,  and 
early  yesterday  morning  the  morbid  and  curious, 
with  the  dead  man's  friends,  made  a  pilgrimage  to 
his  shrine,  Armed  sentries  from  the  Hibernian 
Rifles  stood,  arms  at  rest,  at  each  corner  of  the 
raised  platform  on  which  reposed  the  catafalque 
and  coffin.  A  large  crayon  protrait  of  the  dead 
man  draped  in  black  stood  near  the  coffin.  A 
huge  cross  of  white  pinks  and  marguerites,  woven 


i68 


THE   GREAT   CRONIN   MYSTERY 


in  with  smilax,  was  at  the  head  of  the  bier,  and  a 
harp  and  smaller  cross  stood  at  his  feet.  A  cande- 
labrum with  seven  tapers  flickered  in  front  of  the 
cross;  ropes  of  smilax  and  white  roses  were  looped 
from  the  coffin  and  about  the  catafalque,  and  potted 
plants  were  grouped  at  the  corners  of  the  platform. 
A  canopy  of  American  flags  hung  above  the  bier, 


Scene  at  the  Church. 

and  festoons  of  black  and   white  twined  the  bars 
above  it. 

A  crowd  that  rilled  Michigan  avenue  stood  before 
the  armory.  The  police  kept  a  passageway  open 
for  those  who  wished  to  enter  the  funeral  hall,  and 
two  uniformed  riflemen  leaning  on  bayoneted  mus- 
kets lent  the  glamour  of  their  accouterments  to  the 
military  air  of  the  place.  For  three  hours  the 


LAID   AT   REST  169 

procession  in  double  file  marched  across  the  plat- 
form. Only  the  picture  and  the  big  silver  plate  on 
the  coffin  lid  testified  that  all  that  was  mortal  of 
Dr.  P.  H.  Cronin  was  within  the  casket.  The  line 
of  sight-seers  was  turned  out  at  the  south  door,  and 
few  people  remained  in  the  building. 

At  last  the  procession  stopped  and  the  pall-bear- 
ers entered.  At  their  head  was  Luke  Dillon  of 
Philadelphia;  Edward  O'Meagher  Condon  and  John 
Devoy  of  New  York;  and  Thomas  P.  Tuite,  of  De- 
troit. The  first  three  are  well-known  Irish  nation- 
alists, and  the  latter  a  school-mate  of  the  doctor. 
Following  them  came  Frank  T.  Scanlan,  P.  Mc- 
Garry,  Charles  Bary,  Michael  Kelly,  Daniel  Sulli- 
van, Thomas  McEnerny,  Dudly  Solon,  John  T. 
Golden,  Maurice  Morris,  Dr.  John  Guerin,  ex-Al- 
derman McCauley,  John  P.  Ryan,  John  F.  Scanlan, 
and  W.  P.  Rend.  They  represented  the  friends  of 
the  dead  man  and  societies  to  which  he  belonged. 

Leaving  the  armory,  the  casket  was  placed  in 
a  hearse  drawn  by  four  black  horses,  and  the  pro- 
cession was  formed.  At  its  head  was  a  platoon  of 
police,  with  Lieutenant  Wilson  in  command. 
Through  the  dense  crowds  on  Michigan  avenue  the 
police  pushed  their  way.  Marshall  P.  J.  Cahill  and 
his  aids  rode  at  the  head  of  the  line.  A  drum  corps 
preceded  the  Hibernian  Rifles,  with  arms  reversed, 
and  then  came  the  cortege,  with  the  hearse  in  a 
panoply  of  black,  a  guard  of  honor  from  the  rifles, 
and  the  pall-bearers.  The  Clan-na-Gael  Guards,  in 
gray  uniform  and  tri-colored  plumes;  the  uniform 
rank  of  the  Royal  Arcanum,  in  its  olive-colored 


I/O 


THE  GREAT  CRONIN   MYSTERY 


suits,  and  thousands  ofmembers  oftheAncientOrder 
of  United  Workmen,  without  uniforms,  came  next. 
The  Ancient  Order  of  Hibernians,  1,000  strong, 
several  courts  of  the  Independent  Order  of  Forest- 
ers, 1,200  in  all,  and  2,700  Catholic  Foresters  were 
in  line.  The  uniformed  members  of  the  Royal  Ar- 
canum, the  Royal  League,  the  Sheridan  Rifles,  the 
Catholic  Benevolent  Legion,  and  fragments  of  a 


At  the  Cemetery. 

number  of  other  orders  swelled  the  line.  Marshall 
Cahill  said  that  7, 1 70  men  were  in  the  procession, 
but  the  estimate  is  probably  large. 

The  line  reached  from  Indiana  street  on  Rush  to 
Chicago  avenue,  and  around  to  Superior  street  on 
State.  It  was  thirty-five  minutes  passing  the 
corner  of  Indiana  and  Rush  streets,  four  abreast. 
Four  bands  and  half  a  dozen  drum  corps  played 


LAID   AT  REST  17 1 

dirges  or  marked  the  slow  time  of  the  funeral 
march.  Scores  of  furled  flags  draped  in  black 
and  society  banners  edged  with  crape  were  carried 
by  the  standard-bearers.  The  regalia  and  badges, 
with  emblems  of  mourning,  the  green  of  Ireland, 
and  the  national  red,  white  and  blue,  the  slow 
tread  of  the  marching  hosts,  the  sable  pall  and 
plumes,  the  bands  and  drums  with  their  solemn 
strains  formed  an  impressive  spectacle  for  the 
thousands  that  crowded  sidewalks  and  windows, 
that  climbed  on  stoops  and  boxes,  that  sat  on  roofs 
and  the  tops  of  unfinished  buildings.  It  is  esti- 
mated that  40,000  people  saw  the  possession. 

Reaching  the  Cathedral  of  the  Holy  Name,  an 
immense  crowd  was  encountered.  The  vast  audi- 
torium was  packed  two  hours  before  the  ceremonies 
began.  On  the  approach  of  the  procession,  the 
bell  in  the  tower  tolled  in  measured  strokes  the 
presence  of  the  dead.  A  few  moments  later  the 
organ  pealed  the  opening  strains  —  a  funeral  march, 
the  pall-bearers  with  their  burden  moved  up  the 
center  aisle  and  lowered  the  casket  on  a  catafalque  in 
ebon  trimmings.  The  candles  of  the  funeral  service 
were  placed  beside  it,  and  the  ceremonies  of  the 
high  requiem  mass  were  begun.  The  space  reserved 
for  the  marching  societies  was  inadequate  for  the 
half  of  their  members,  though  nearly  one-half  of 
the  church  was  set  aside  for  them.  Only  an  escort 
of  the  Hibernian  Rifles,  and  representatives  of  the 
different  societies  entered  the  room. 

Schmidt's  Requiem  Mass  in  D  major  was  sung 
with  the  offertory,  "  Redemptor  Mundi  Deus  "  by 


172 


THE  GREAT  CRONIN  MYSTERY 


Mozart,  a  bass  solo  by  F.  A.  Langlois,  the  bene- 
dictus  by  Gounod,  a  quartet  by  Mrs.  Dorney,  Miss 
Coffey,  P.  J.  Gleason  and  F.  A.  Langlois,  and  the 
"  Agnus  Dei  "  by  Reisinger. 

The  Rev.  Father  Agnevv  was  the  celebrant  of  the 
mass,  with  the  Rev.  Father  Perry  as  assistant. 

The  dirges  of  the  bands  and  the  roll  of  the 
drums  that  came  in  through  the  windows  from  the 
still-marching  host,  threw  a  shadow  of  the  crime 
over  the  funeral  vestments  of  the  priests,  and  into 


Crowd  at  Cemetery  Entrance. 

the  solemn  intoning  of  the  requiem  service,  and 
the  deep-toned  responses  of  the  organ. 

The  church  was  not  draped  in  mourning  emblems 
further  than  is  usual  at  funerals,  and  no  display 
was  made  beyond  '  the  customary  church  cere- 
monials. The  requiem  high  mass  is  never  cele- 
brated on  Sunday,  it  is  said,  and  in  this  the  funeral 
of  yesterday  had  an  unusual  honor. 

Three  trains  waited  for  the  crowd,  and  thirty-six 
cars  were  comfortably  filled.  Hundreds  of  petsons 


LAID   AT   REST 


173 


drove  out,  and  came  to  the  cemetery  from  neigh- 
boring suburbs.  The  people  on  the  ground  num- 
bered 3 ,000  —  probably  more.  Heavy  black  clouds 
in  the  west  kept  many  away,  and  rumors  of  trouble 
on  the  journey  may  have  frightened  others  away. 


Placing  the  Body  in  the  Vault. 

Some  rumors  had  got  abroad  that  the  doctor's  ene- 
mies meant  to  blow  up  the  funeral  train  with  dyna- 
mite, and  his  friends  say  that  this  talk  deterred 
many  from  attending.  The  rumors  were  not  gen- 
eral public  property,  however,  and  it  is  doubtful  if 
many  people  remained  away  on  account  of  this 
story.  It  could  be  traced  to  no  authentic  source. 


T74      THE  GREAT  CRONIN  MYSTERY 

CHAPTER  XX. 

ON   THE   TRACK   AGAIN. 

IN  a  few  days  I  was  pronounced  by  my  physician 
as  well  enough  to  leave  my  house  and  attend  to 
my  business.  No  school-boy  released  from  the 
confinement  of  the  school-room,  no  prisoner  ever 
set  at  liberty,  received  the  information  with  greater 
pleasure  than  did  I.  I  was  free  to  go  to  work 
again,  free  to  join  in  the  search  that  was  now  being 
vigorously  pushed  for  the  discovery  of  the  missing 
instrument  that  had  struck  the  fatal  blow.  There 
was  much  to  be  done.  True,  three  men  were 
indicted  for  the  murder;  but  were  they  guilty? 
and,  if  so,  were  they  the  only  ones  connected  with 
the  mysterious  affair?  I  had  followed  up  the  case 
closely.  Not  one  point  of  interest  escaped  my 
notice.  Of  course,  there  was  much  of  a  sensa- 
tional nature,  mere  rumors  published  to  help  sell 
the  newspapers,  in  which  there  was  not  a  particle 
of  truth.  I  knew  this,  and  so  accepted  only  that 
which  could  be  corroborated. 

The  events  of  the  murder  were  summed  up  as 
follows  by  the  Times,  which  showed  great  persist- 
ence and  diligent  labor  in  collecting  facts.  This 
list  or  summary  shows,  beyond  doubt,  the  existence 
of  a  plot,  as  can  be  seen.  Even  in  February, 
arrangements  were  evidently  being  made  to  foully 
"  remove  "  the  Irish  patriot  from  the  land  of  the 
living. 


ON   THE   TRACK   AGAIN  175 

February  20 — J.  B.  Simonds,  or  Williams,  rents 
the  rooms  at  1 17  Clark  street. 

February  21 — The  furniture  is  purchased  at 
Revell's  and  moved  to  the  apartments. 

March  20 — Williams  rents  the  cottage  at  1872 
Ashland  avenue. 

March  22 — The  furniture  arrives  at  the  cottage. 

April  20 — Williams  pays  another  month's  rent 
for  the  cottage. 

April  26 — Iceman  Sullivan  makes  his  peculiar 
contract  with  Dr.  Cronin. 

May  4  —  Detective  Coughlin,  at  10  a.  m.,  orders 
the  rig  from  his  "  friend." 

May  4  —  At  7:15,  the  "friend"  leaves  Dinan's 
livery  stable,  260  North  Clark  street,  with  the 
white-horse  rig. 

May  4  —  At  7:20,  the  "friend"  calls  for  Dr. 
Cronin  at  470  North  Clark  street,  and  drives  him 
away. 

May  4  —  At  8:15,  the  buggy  arrives  at  the 
Carlson  cottage. 

May  4  —  Between  8:15  and  9,  Dr.  Cronin  meets 
his  death. 

May  4  —  At  9:15,  Coughlin's  "friend"  returns 
the  white-horse  rig  to  the  livery  stable. 

May  5 — At  2  a.  m.,  two  Lake  View  policemen 
see  the  wagon  which  contained  the  trunk. 

May  5  — At  1 1  a.  m.,  the  bloody  trunk  is  found 
at  Evanston  road  and  Sulzer  street. 

May  5  —  At  2  p.  m.  the  Conklins  report  Dr. 
Cronin's  disappearance  to  the  East  Chicago  Avenue 
Station. 


176  THE   GREAT  CRONIN   MYSTERY 

May  5  —  Captain  Schaack  declares  the  hair  found 
in  the  trunk  is  not  Cronin's.  He  says  he  knew 
Cronin  intimately. 

May  6  —  At  10  a.  m.,  liveryman  Dinan  meets 
Coughlin  and  Schaack.  Coughlin  at  once  makes 
his  appeal  for  silence.  The  latter  says  he  will 
investigate. 

May  10  —  Captain  Schaack  still  looking  for  the 
white-horse  rig. 

May  10 —  Miss  Anna  Murphy  states  she  saw  Dr. 
Cronin  in  a  street-car  at  about  nine  o'clock  of  the 
night  of  the  murder. 

May  10  —  Frank  Woodruff,  alias  Black,  arrested, 
and  he  at  once  begins  to  fill  up  the  police  with  fairy 
stories. 

May  10 — Ananias  Long  claims  he  met  Dr. 
Cronin  in  Toronto. 

May  ii — Long  sends  the  Cronin  dispatches  to 
the  papers. 

May  13 — A  "prominent"  railroad  official  sees 
Dr.  Cronin  in  Toronto. 

May  1 6  —  The  St.  Catharines  (Ont.)  chief  of 
police  sees  Cronin  in  Sherwood,  New  York. 

May  17  —  Pat  Egan  and  Father  O'Reilly  de- 
nounce the  action  of  Cronin's  friends  in  claiming 
that  he  was  murdered. 

May  1 8  —  Detective  Simmons  telegraphs  that 
Cronin  was  not  in  Toronto. 

May  20  —  Cronin's  friends  offer  a  big  reward. 

May  22 —  Cronin's  body  is  found  in  a  catch- 
basin,  corner  of  Fifty-ninth  and  Evanston  avenue, 


ON  THE  TRACK  AGAIN  177 

by  Henry  Tlosch.  It  is  subsequently  identified  by 
his  friends. 

May  24  —  The  "  Major"  Sampson  story  is  pub- 
lished by  the  Times. 

May  24 —  Discovery  of  the  cottage,  1872  Ash- 
land avenue. 

May  25 — The  Times  charges  Detective  Dan 
Coughlin  with  complicity  in  the  great  crime. 

May  25 — Dan  Coughlin  is  locked  up  at  the 
Armory  Station. 

May  25  —  Dinan's  horse  and  buggy  fully  identi- 
fied. 

May  25  —  Detective  Michael  Whalen  suspended 
on  suspicion. 

May  25 — Woodruff,  upon  Coughlin's  arrest, 
refuses  to  talk  to  anybody. 

May  26  —  At  2  a.  m.  King  is  arrested  on  suspi- 
cion of  being  the  man  mentioned  by  Woodruff. 

May  26  —  At  roa.  m.  Peter  McGeehan  is  report- 
ed to  have  been  arrested.  This  was  afterward 
proven  to  have  been  a  false  rumor. 

May  26  —  WillardJ.  Smith  appears  on  the  scene. 
He  says  he  is  a  friend  of  Coughlin,  but  that  he  did 
not  hire  the  white-horse  rig. 

May  26  —  Dr.  Cronin  buried  in  Calvary  Ceme- 
tery. 

May  27  —  Dan  Coughlin  sent  to  the  County  Jail 
without  bail  on  a  charge  of  murder.  P.  O.  Sulli- 
van, the  iceman,  also  held  on  the  same  charge,  but 
he  is  kept  at  the  Lake  View  station  during  the 
day,  when  he  makes  a  confession. 

Cronin  Mystery  12 


178  THE    GREAT   CRONIN   MYSTERY 

May  28  —  Coughlin,  Woodruff,  and  Sullivan 
indicted  by  the  grand  jury  for  Dr.  Cronin's  murder. 

May  28  —  The  coroner's  jury  visits  the  scenes  of 
the  crime,  and  adjourns  one  day. 

May  28  —  Frank  Woodruff  makes  a  confession. 

May  29  —  The  coroner's  jury  adjourns  until 
Monday. 

May  29  —  Two  more  arrests  reported. 

I  saw  by  the  paper,  and  also  learned  in  a  casual 
way  from  some  of  the  men  on  the  force,  that  my 
lady  had  not  given  any  cause  for  suspicion.  No 
woman  had  been  associated  with  the  case  as  yet, 
with  the  exception  of  the  young  girl,  Anna  Murphy, 
who  testified  that  she  saw  Dr.  Cronin  on  a  cable 
car  on  the  night  of  the  murder,  and  Mrs.  T.  T. 
Conklin. 

I  believed  that  the  other  woman  knew  some- 
thing about  it.  Why  did  I  not  reveal  my  thoughts? 
may  be  asked. 

I  had  my  reasons,  which  will  be  shown  later  on. 
I  wanted  to  be  sure,  for  one  thing. 

About  ten  o'clock  on  the  morning  of  June  1st  I 
wended  my  way  down  town  to  my  office.  Not  a 
pleasant  day,  by  any  manner  of  means,  and  yet  I 
did  not  feel  the  effects  of  the  damp  air,  nor  the 
drizzling  rain.  I  was  glad  to  be  out.  I  found  a 
pile  of  letters  in  my  letter-box.  They  had  been 
accumulating  ever  since  I  had  been  sick. 

I  had  neglected  to  send  word  to  the  general 
office  to  have  my  mail  sent  to  my  house. 

"  There  is  probably  nothing    important  among 


ON    THE   TRACK   AGAIN  1 79 

them  anyhow,"  I  muttered,  turning  the  uppermost 
epistle  over  in  my  hands. 

I  was  right.  The  majority  of  the  letters  were  of 
an  unimportant  nature. 

I  finally  came  to  one  out  of  the  bunch  that  caused 
me  to  eagerly  remove  the  envelope  and  peruse  it 
hastily.  It  was  from  the  man  who  had  sent  me  to 
Canada.  The  letter  was  dated  May  2Oth,  and  read 
as  follows: 
"  .Mr. 

"  I  had  been  anxiously  waiting  to  hear  from  you 
from  Toronto  for  several  days,  and  had  about 
made  up  my  mind  to  go  up  there  after  you,  when, 
suddenly,  one  night,  my  wife  walked  into  the 
house  and  took  off  her  hat  and  cloak  as  calmly  as 
though  she  had  only  been  out  for  a  walk. 

"  '  You  have  got  back,'  I  said. 

"  She  laughed. 

"  '  You  see  me,'  she  replied. 

'Did  you    have  a  pleasant  time?  '  I  inquired, 
somewhat  sarcastically. 

"  She  did  not  seem  to  notice  the  sarcasm. 

"  '  Very,'  she  said,  calmly.  '  I  had  a  very  pleas- 
ant evening  with  Mr. ,  of  Chicago  —  a  friend 

of  yours,  I  believe.' 

"  When  she  spoke  your  name,  I  knew  at  once  that 
she  had  become  aware  of  the  fact  that  you  were 
watching  her. 

"  '  He  is  no  friend  of  mine,'  I  said,  with  an  attempt 
at  unconcern. 

4  No  ?  '  she  murmured,    with  uplifted  eyebrows 
and  a  rising  inflection  of  her  voice. 


180  THE    GREAT   CRONIN   MYSTERY 

"  '  No! '  I  replied  positively. 

"  '  It  does  not  make  much  difference/  she  said; 
'  I  left  him  in  Hamilton.'  I  realized  that  she  had 
given  you  the  slip,  and  it  worried  me  greatly.  I 
telegraphed  you  to  Toronto,  then  to  Hamilton,  and 
received  no  answer.  Then,  thinking  you  might  be 
in  the  city,  I  went  to  your  office.  I  found  it 
locked!  So  now  I  write  this  letter,  hoping  by  this 
means  to  reach  you.  When  you  receive  this,  come 
to  my  house  at  once.  I  have  much  to  tell  you  that 
I  dare  not  write.  Hoping  to  see  you  soon,  I  re- 
main, Yours,  respectfully,  " . " 

I  turned  the  letter  over  once,  and  then  read  it 
through  again. 

There  was  something  in  it,  I  felt  sure.  I  ran 
through  the  balance  of  my  correspondence  —  a  gas 
bill,  two  postal  cards,  and  another  letter  from  the 
man  I  felt  interested  in. 

Eagerly  I  tore  open  the  envelope.  I  will  give 
the  letter  in  full. 

"  No. Division  St., 

"  CHICAGO,  ILL.,  May  3ist,  1889. 
"  Mr. . 

"  DEAR  SIR — I  wrote  you  the  2Oth,  and  have 
been  looking  for  either  a  visit  or  an  answer  since. 
You  have  disappointed  me,  and,  by  so  doing, 
have  missed  an  opportunity  that  will  probably 
never  occur  again.  My  wife  left  the  house  last 
night,  and  has  not  as  yet  returned.  Naturally  I  am 
anxious.  I  write  you  this  in  hopes  that  it  will  reach 
you,  and  that  you  will  give  it  your  immediate  at- 


ON  THE  TRACK  AGAIN  l8l 

tention.  I  take  it  for  granted  that  you  failed  to 
receive  my  former  letter.  I  pray  that  this  one  will 
reach  you.  Come  at  once  without  delay,  when 
you  receive  it. 


I  made  up  my  mind  quickly  — I  do,  when  occa- 
sion seems  to  require  it.     In  ten  minutes  I  was  on 

my  way  to  the  house  of  Mr. ,  at  No.  

Division  street. 


1 82  THE  'GREAT   CRONIN   MYSTERY 

CHAPTER  XXI. 

THE   ADVENTURES   OF   A   NIGHT. 

I  WAS  doomed  to  disappointment  myself.  When 

I  reached  the  house  of  Mr.  ,  I  found  the  door 

fastened,  and  repeated  raps  and  pulls  at  the  door- 
bell failed  to  bring  anyone  to  answer  the  summons. 

"  There  is  no  one  at  home,"  I  muttered,  in  a  dis- 
appointed tone,  as  I  began  to  realize  this  fact. 

As  I  walked  slowly  toward  Clark  street,  I  turned 
the  matter  carefully  over  in  my  mind.  I  could  not 
understand  why  the  man  was  not  at  home,  when  he 
had  written  me  in  such  an  urgent  manner. 

"  Never  mind;  I'll  call  again  to-night,"  I  said, 
and  then,  partly  dismissing  the  subject  from  my 
mind,  I  began  to  lay  plans  as  to  the  most  profitable 
way  of  putting  in  the  day. 

I  determined  at  last  to  go  out  to  Lake  View.  I 
had  an  idea  that  something  of  interest  might  turn 
up;  and  so,  hiring  a  rig,  I  drove  to  the  place  of  Dr. 
Cronin's  murder.  First,  I  went  to  the  cottage  at 
1872  Ashland  avenue.  I  found  a  number  of  people 
gathered  around  it  in  the  street,  upon  the  side- 
walk, gaping,  staring,  talking,  glancing  every  few 
minutes  at  the  stolid  policeman  who  was  on  guard. 

I  presented  myself  at  the  door,  and,  showing  the 
officer  ,'my  badge,  I  gained  admission  to  the  cot- 
tage. It  was  the  first  time  I  had  been  in  it,  and  a 
slight  shudder  convulsed  my  frame  as  I  passed  into 
the  parlor.  It  was  in  this  room  that  Dr.  Cronin 
met  his  death.  I  looked  around  upon  the  walls. 


THE   ADVENTURES   OF  A  NIGHT 


183 


"Ah!  if  they  could  only  speak!"  I  thought 
they  could  have  revealed  the  entire  story,  could 
have  told  everything. 

With  a  sigh  I  left  the  house. 

During    the    day    I    passed   several    bodies   of 
detectives    and    policemen    engaged    in    dragging 
ponds  and  a  portion  of  the  lake,  searching  for  Dr. 
Cronin's   clothes.     I    did   not   speak   to   them.     I 
knew  that  nothing  had  been  found. 


Grappling  Hooks. 

About  dusk  I  found  myself  near  the  spot  where 
the  murdered  man's  body  had  been  found. 

A  gloomy,  horrible  place. 

I  shuddered  as  I  looked  about  me.  In  my 
mind's  eye  I  could  see  the  heartless  wretches  who 
had  disposed  of  the  body,  driving  along  the  road. 
I  could  almost  hear  the  rattle  of  the  wagon  wheels. 
The  trunk  was  thrown  off,  the  lid  kicked  open,  and 


1 84      THE  GREAT  CRONIN  MYSTERY 

the  limp,  lifeless  corpse  lifted  out  and  thrown  into 
the  foul-smelling  and  loathsome  hole. 

The  picture  I  drew  seemed  so  realistic  to  me  that 
I  shuddered.  A  strange  feeling  of  dread  came 
over  me.  I  felt  anxious  to  leave  the  uncanny  spot 
far  behind  me. 

I  turned  my  horse's  head  to  go.  Night  was 
slowly  coming  on.  In  a  marsh  somewhere  near,  a 
chorus  of  frogs  were  croaking  dismally.  A  short 
distance  away  I  could  see  the  glimmer  of  a  lamp  in 
a  house,  while  the  tombstones  in  the  cemetery 
showed  ghastly  in  their  whiteness,  to  my  eye. 

I  was  about  to  chirrup  to  the  horse,  when  I 
thought  I  detected  the  sound  of  wagon  wheels  in 
reality.  I  listened!  Yes!  above  the  "  kerchunk  " 
of  the  frogs  I  could  distincly  hear  the  rattle-clatter 
of  a  vehicle  of  some  sort. 

I  glanced  about  me  quickly.  Over  on  the  prairie 
I  saw  a  long  signboard,  put  up  by  some  enterprising 
real  estate  dealer  who  wished  to  induce  some  one 
to  come  out  and  settle  upon  this  desert  waste,  on 
the  installment  plan. 

I  drove  my  horse  toward  this  signboard,  and 
saw,  with  satisfaction,  that  it  was  large  enough  to 
conceal  me,  horse,  buggy  and  all. 

I  had  not  been  in  hiding  over  five  minutes  before 
a  close  carriage  appeared  upon  the  scene.  It  was 
driven  by  a  man  whose  features  were  concealed  by 
a  cap  which  was  pulled  down  over  his  eyes.  He 
seemed  much  put  out  at  the  bad  state  of  the  road, 
for  he  was  muttering  curses,  which  came  distinctly 
to  my  ears. 


THE  ADVENTURES   OF  A   NIGHT  185 

"  A  curious  place  to  drive,"  I  thought  to  myself. 
The  rain  was  falling  in  a  steady,  monotonous  drip. 
Now  and  then  a  little  shower  would  spring  up.  I 
was  decidedly  damp,  and  fears  of  rheumatism  en- 
tered my  mind,  but  I  would  not  have  left  my  hiding- 
place  if  the  positive  certainty  of  that  affliction  stared 
me  in  the  face. 

Near  the  catch-basin  where  the  body  was  found, 
the  carriage  stopped,  and,  to  my  surprise  and 
amazement,  a  female  figure  alighted.  Breathless 
with  attention,  wondering  what  she  was  about  to 
do,  1  watched,  and  saw  her  walk  toward  the  catch- 
basin,  pass  beyond  it,  and,  then  stopping,  begin  to 
search  for  something  in  the  grass. 

This  action  puzzled  me.  The  ground  around  the 
basin  for  a  great  distance  had  been  gone  over  many 
times  by  policemen,  detectives  and  private  indi- 
viduals searching  for  some  one  or  all  of  Dr.  Cronin's 
missing  articles.  What  was  this  woman  expecting 
to  find?  What  was  she  searching  so  anxiously  for? 
I  sat  and  watched  her  for  an  hour;  then,  with  a 
gesture  of  disappointment,  I  saw  her  cease  her 
labors  and  return  to  her  carriage,  which  she  entered 
and  returned  toward  Lake  View. 

I  followed  after  the  carriage.  The  rattle  of  its 
wheels  drowned  the  clatter  of  my  own  conveyance, 
and  so  attracted  no  attention.  For  some  distance 
the  road,  heavy  and  muddy  from  the  persistent 
rain  of  the  past  two  weeks,  was  difficult  to  traverse, 
but  it  grew  better  as  we  drew  nearer  the  more 
thickly  settled  portions  of  the  town,  and  the  driver 


1 86      THE  GREAT  CRONIN  MYSTERY 

of  the  carriage  before  me  urged  on  his  horse,  I 
doing  the  same  to  my  faithful,  steed. 

The  carriage  entered  Lincoln  Park,  and,  suddenly, 
without  warning,  stopped.  I  knew  that,  if  I  stopped 
also,  it  might  excite  a  suspicion  in  the  mmds 
of  the  occupant  of  the  carriage  and  the  driver  that 
I  was  "  shadowing"  them,  and  so  I  kept  right  ahead. 

As  I  passed  the  carriage,  the  door  opened  and 
the  female  figure  stepped  down  into  the  road.  I 
was  so  close  that  I  could  dimly  distinguish  the 
features  of  the  woman;  the  form  I  knew  at  once. 

It  was  my  fair  friend  of  Hamilton. 

My  old  horse  was  going  along  at  a  leisurely  pace; 
I  did  not  urge  him  to  a  faster  one.  As  soon  as  I 
passed  the  carriage  in  the  road,  I  turned  and  looked 
back  through  the  little  window  in  the  back  of  the 
carriage,  and  saw  the  woman  walk  toward  the  trees 
that  skirted  the  roadway  and  disappear.  The 
driver  of  the  carriage  turned  his  horses'  heads  and 
drove  away  in  the  direction  from  which  he  had  just 
come. 

I  sprang  from  the  buggy,  led  my  horse  in  among 
the  trees,  tied  him,  and  sprang  along  in  the  direc- 
tion which  the  woman  had  taken.  Her  actions 
were  decidedly  mysterious,  in  fact,  suspicious. 

I  walked  for  some  distance,  and  had  begun  to 
think  that  I  had  missed  her,  when  suddenly  through 
the  trees  I  saw  her  form.  In  a  short  time  I  was 
close  behind  her. 

And  a  long  walk  she  gave  me  —  up  one  path, 
down  another,  until  I  began  to  think  that  she  was 


THE   ADVENTURES   OF   A   NIGHT  l8/ 

working  her  old  tactics,  the  same  she  had  made 
use  of  May  4th. 

"  Can  she  possibly  suspicion  that  I  am  watching 
her?  "  I  thought. 

The  events  of  the  next  ten  minutes  proved  to 
my  satisfaction  that  she  had  no  such  suspicion,  for, 
after  walking  a  long  distance,  she  suddenly  turned 
toward  the  lake  front,  and  made  her  way  to  a  se- 
cluded spot  upon  the  shore.  A  small  clump  of 
trees  hid  her  from  my  view,  but  I  surmised  that 
she  was  upon  the  other  side  of  that  clump,  and 
soon  found  that  I  was  correct. 

There  she  was,  and  a  man  with  her,  and  that 
man  —  her  husband  / 

To  say  that  I  was  surprised  would  but  inade- 
quately describe  my  sensations  as  I  saw  and  rec- 
ognized the  man.  Why  on  earth  did  he  resort  to 
so  much  secrecy  to  see  this  woman,  his  wife  —  she 
who,  he  claimed,  had  proven  false  to  him,  and 
whom  he  seemed  so  anxious  to  connect  with  the 
murder  of  Dr.  Cronin?  I  crouched  low  in  the 
bushes,  and  listened. 

"  So  you  did  not  find  it?  "  he  said,  in  a  disap- 
pointed tone. 

"  No,"  she  replied,  fretfully.  "  It  was  most  too 
dark,  and  the  ground  has  been  dug  up  and  gone 
over  so  much  that  it  is  impossible  to  find  any- 
thing." 

"  I  am  positive  it  is  not  in  the  hands  of  the  po- 
lice," muttered  the  man,  musingly. 

"  It  may  be,  and  they  are  keeping  it  to  them- 
selves," replied  the  woman. 


1 88  THE  GREAT  CRONIN  MYSTERY 

"  I  don't  think  so,"  asserted  the  husband.  "  It 
would  surely  have  been  published  long  before  this. 
The  papers  get  hold  of  everything.  " 

"Except  the  right  things,"  and  the  woman 
laughed. 

"  I  have  got  that  detective  right  under  my 
thumb  by  this  time,  "said  the  man,  after  a  moment's 
silence.  "  I  have  tried  him  well,  and  he  has  not 
come  near  me.  I  guess  he  has  come  to  the  con- 
clusion that  neither  you  nor  I  have  any  knowledge 
of  the  affair,  or  he  would  spring  it." 

"  That  trip  to  Canada  might  have  got  me  into 
trouble,"  said  the  woman.  "  This  detective  is  a 
smart  fellow,  and  the  fact  that  those  '  Long  '  letters 
and  dispatches  appeared  while  I  was  there,  might 
lead  him  to  believe  that  I  was  really  interested  in 
that  affair." 

"  It  was  rather  singular  that  they  should  come 
out  just  at  that  time,"  said  the  man,  with  a  slight 
laugh. 

"  Yes;  and,  taking  one  thing  with  another,  it 
could  be  made  to  look  very  suspicious,"  replied  the 
woman. 

"  Well,  our  interview  is  over.  You  cannot  find 
the  pencil.  You  had  better  go  home,"  said  the 
fellow.  "  I'll  go  around  by  one  road,  you  the 
other.  Be  careful,  and,  Allie " 

The  woman  had  started  to  go.      She  stopped. 

"Well." 

"  Go  right  home,  will  you?  " 

She  seemed  to  be  angry,  for  she  shook  her  head 
and  walked  off  without  making  any  reply. 


THE   ADVENTURES   OF   A   NIGHT  1 89 

The  man  stood  and  gazed  after  her  fora  moment, 
and  then  muttered,  as  if  to  himself: 

"  A  mighty  sleek  woman  if  she'd  only  act 
straight;"  then  he  too  disappeared. 

I  arose  from  my  crouching  position  and  stood 
erect.  My  head  was  whirling  with  the  thoughts 
that  filled  my  brain.  "  What  could  all  this  mean?  " 

I  inferred,  from  what  I  had  heard,  that  the  woman 
had  lost  a  pencil,  probably  a  gold  one.  She  would 
scarcely  go  to  all  that  trouble  to  find  an  ordinary 
lead  pencil.  She  had  lost  it  somewhere  near  the 
catch-basin.  When  did  she  lose  it?  How?  The 
man  I  now  knew  to  be  false  and  treacherous.  He 
was  or  had  been  working  some  deep  scheme,  a 
scheme  so  deep  that  he  had  even  tried  to  throw 
suspicion  upon  his  wife  in  order  to  direct  it  from 
himself.  At  least,  so  I  concluded. 

What  was  this  scheme?     I  must  ferret  it  out. 

I  walked  to  the  spot  where  I  had  concealed  my 
horse.  He  was  still  there.  I  climbed  into  the 
buggy,  and  drove  to  the  livery  stable  where  I  had 
engaged  the  rig. 

I  felt  convinced  now  that  the  woman  had  not 
been  connected  with  the  fake  dispatch  sent  from 
Toronto  by  Long. 

Why  had  she  gone  to  Canada  at  all?  It  was  a 
mystery  to  me.  I  determined  to  go  to  the  house 
of  this  pair  before  going  home.  It  was  not  far 
from  the  livery  stable,  and  in  a  short  time  I  was 
standing  in  the  shadow  of  the  building  on  the  op- 
posite side  of  the  street,  watching  for  some  sign  of 
life  from  within. 


190  THE   GREAT   CRONIN   MYSTERY 

CHAPTER  XXII. 

A  QUARREL,  AND  WHAT  IT  REVEALED. 

I  MUST  have  stood  waiting  on  the  opposite  side 
of  the  street  for  an  hour.  No  one  appeared,  either 
inside  or  outside  the  house. 

I  grew  impatient. 

"  Where  can  they  be?  "  I  muttered. 

After  waiting  for  a  few  moments  longer,  I  de- 
termined to  investigate.  I  walked  down  Franklin 
street  (the  house  was  near  that  thoroughfare)  until 
I  came  to  a  small,  narrow  alley  that  ran  along  the 
rear  of  the  house  that  faced  on  Division  street. 
Glancing  around  me,  to  be  sure  I  was  unobserved, 
I  darted  up  this  alley  until  I  came  to  the  rear  en- 
trance to  the  yard  which  was  back  of  the  house. 
^.  rough  board  gate  secured  the  entrance. 

I  tried  the  gate.  From  the  sound,  I  knew  it  was 
only  bolted  from  the  inside,  and  that  it  would  be 
a  comparatively  easy  matter  to  force  an  entrance. 

I  climbed  to  the  top  of  the  fence,  and  cautiously 
scanned  the  back  of  the  ^puse.  It  was  dark  and 
gloomy.  Not  a  light  nor  any  other  sign  of  life 
could  be  seen. 

"  Why  not  go  into  the  house?"  came  a  thought 
to  me  like  a  lightning  flash. 

I  accepted  the  thought  as  a  good  one,  and 
cautiously  let  myself  down  on  the  other  side,  then, 
unbolting  the  gate,  so  that  I  could  leave  the  place 
quickly  if  necessity  compelled,  I  tip-toed  across 
the  yard  to  the  door  which  I  believed  opened  into 


A    QUARREL  I 91 

the  kitchen.  It  was  locked,  of  course;  I  expected 
that,  but  I  found  but  little  difficulty  in  forcing  it. 
I  had  a  very  handy  little  tool  in  my  pocket,  which 
I  had  found  very  useful  at  other  times. 

I  soon  stood  in  the  kitchen.  I  knew  it  to  be  so, 
from  the  fact  that  the  fire  was  still  burning  in  the 
stove,  and  the  faint  glow  indistinctly  illuminated 
the  surrounding  objects.  I  found  the  cupboard, 
and  upon  a  shelf  inside  a  lamp.  Matches  I  had  in 
my  pocket,  and,  in  a  short  time,  I  had  a  light. 
I  rapidly  took  in  my  surroundings.  Nothing 
uncommon  or  extraordinary.  The  furniture  was 
plain,  and  such  as  can  be  found  any  day  in  any 
kitchen.  I  went  out  of  the  kitchen  into  the  first 
room  I  chanced  to  open  the  door  of — a  sitting- 
room,  furnished  neatly  and  comfortably.  A  table 
stood  in  the  center  of  the  room,  and  upon  it  a 
number  of  periodicals  and  newspapers  gave  evi- 
dence that  the  person  who  had  been  the  occupant 
of  the  room  last  had  been  reading.  A  pipe  and 
some  tobacco  also  lay  upon  the  table.  An  easy- 
chair  was  drawn  up  alongside  the  table.  A 
number  of  other  chairs,  cane  seated,  and  a  lounge, 
completed  the  furniture  of  the  apartment,  with  the 
exception  of  the  pictures  upon  the  walls,  of  which 
there  were  probably  a  half-dozen  chromos  and 
inferior  steel  engravings. 

Nothing  out  of  the  common  order  of  things 
here.  The  adjoining  room  was  furnished  as  an 
office  or  study.  A  heavy,  massive  walnut  desk, 
or  writing  table,  occupied  the  center  of  the  room, 
and  in  one  corner  stood  a  safe.  A  number  of 


THE  GREAT  CRONIN  MYSTERY 

shelves  upon  the  walls  were  filled  with  books.  I 
set  my  lamp  down  upon  the  writing  table.  A  man 
usually  keeps  his  private  papers  either  in  the 
drawers  of  his  writing  table  or  in  his  safe.  I 
thought  perhaps  I  might  find  something  of  interest 
in  the  table  drawers,  and  so  I  forced  the  first  one. 
Luck  favored  me.  I  found  a  bundle  of  letters 
in  the  drawer.  I  felt  positive  that  no  one  was  in 
the  house,  but,  to  make  assurance  doubly  sure,  I 
turned  the  keys  in  the  doors  leading  into  the  sitting- 
room  and  hall,  so  that  no  one  could  possibly  come 
in  upon  me  unawares  ;  then,  drawing  a  revolving 
office  chair  up  to  the  table  I  took  up  the  first  of 
the  bundle  of  letters,  and  drew  the  sheet  of  paper 
from  the  envelope.  Its  contents  surprised  me. 
They  were  as  follows  : 

"  CHICAGO,  May  3,  1889. 


"  The  job  is  to  be  done  to-morrow  night,  between 
seven  and  nine.  In  order  to  throw  off  suspicion,  I 
have  arranged  a  plan,  which  I  want  you  to  carry 
out  to  the  very  letter.  Call  on ,  the  de- 
tective, and  engage  him  to  'shadow'  your  wife. 
You  will  assume  the  character  of  a  jealous  hus- 
band, which  will  not  be  very  difficult  for  you  to 
do,  and  be  sure  and  have  him  at  your  house  before 
seven  o'clock.  Start  Allie  out  at  about  seven.  He 
will  follow  her,  and,  as  she  will  keep  him  out  until 
nine,  it  will  be  easy  enough  for  her  to  prove  an 
alibi  in  case  anything  should  occur  to  associate  sus- 
picion with  her.  The  detective  himself  will  know 


A    QUARREL  193 

that  she  was  not  near.     You  know  what  to  do  then. 
Don't  make  any  mistake. 


I  eagerly  read  the  next: 

"  MAY  6th. 


"  Dr.  Cronin  has  disappeared.  The  papers  are 
full  of  it.  I  have  not  heard  from  you,  but  I  take 
it  for  granted  that  you  have  done  your  part  of  the 
work.  The  detective  has  determined  to  take  hold 
of  the  job.  I  saw  him  around  Lake  View,  and  he 
may,  in  his  search  for  Dr.  Cronin,  find  out  more 
than  we  would  like.  We  must  get  him  out  of  the 
city.  Give  him  some  idea  that  Allie  knows  some- 
thing about  the  Cronin  affair;  that  will  interest  him. 
Then  ship  her  anywhere  you  see  fit.  He  will  fol- 
low her.  Warn  her  to  be  careful,  and  lead  him 
around  by  the  nose  a  few  weeks.  In  the  mean- 
time we  can  finish  up  the  job  and  skip. 

"  Attend  to  this  at  once. 


I  began  to  see  some  plot  outlined  before  me. 
Decidedly  vague.  I  could  not  make  it  out.  Per- 
haps the  next  letter  would  enlighten  me.  I  spread 
it  out  before  me.  At  that  moment,  I  heard  the 
sound  of  a  key  inserted  in  the  outside  door. 

As  quick  as  thought  I  blew  out  my  light,  and, 
without  thinking  of  the  open  letter  upon  the  table, 
crouched  behind  the  safe,  holding  the  extinguished 
lamp  in  my  hand.  I  feared  that  the  party  enter- 
ing the  house,  would  come  into  the  room  and  see 

Cronin  Mystery  13 


194  THE   GREAT    CRONIN   MYSTERY 

me.  Such  was  not  the  case,  however.  I  heard 
the  street  door  open,  then  the  sound  of  footsteps 
in  the  hall,  and  then  the  door  opened.  Listening, 
I  discovered  that  the  party  or  parties  (for  I  could 
distinguish  the  sound  of  more  than  one  person 
moving  about)  were  in  the  adjoining  room,  and, 
to  judge  from  the  sound  of  their  voices,  they  were 
quarreling. 

I  could  hear  the  heavy  voice  of  a  man,  and  the 
finer  tone  of  a  woman's  voice. 

The  husband  and  wife  returned  together.  They 
had  each  gone  in  an  opposite  direction,  upon  leav- 
ing the  park.  I  knew  that  he  did  not  expect  to 
see  her  until  he  returned  home.  How  came  it,  then, 
that  they  came  together?  With  great  caution  I 
crept  to  the  door  opening  into  the  sitting-room, 
and  applied  my  ear  to  the  key-hole. 

II  You  are  a  tricky,  lying ,"  said  the  man. 

I  could  hear  him  distinctly. 

"  Be  careful,"  I  heard  the  woman  reply;  "  I  may 
not  stand  your  abuse  much  longer.  " 

"  You  started  to  walk  home;  I  suspicioned  you, 
and  followed  you;  I  saw  your  act  of  infidelity," 
growled  the  man. 

"  You  have  no  right  to  watch  me,"  retorted  the 
woman.  "  Because  I  consent  to  live  with  you  is  no 
reason  why  I  should  deny  myself  the  society  of 
others.  Any  one,  to  hear  you  talk,  would  think  that 
you  were  my  husband." 

Ah!  I  had  discovered  one  thing — they  were  not 
married. 

"  Alice,"  the  man  said  next,  "  you  know  that  it 


A   QUARREL  195 

is  to  your  interest  to  keep  in  with  me.  There  is 
much  in  common  between  us,  and  you  know  the 
old  proverb:  '  United  we  stand,  divided  we  fall.' 
It  is  only  a  question  of  a  few  days  before  big  money 
will  come  in  from  that  last  job;  it  is  not  necessary 
to  explain  what  job;  you  know  what  I  mean.  I 
love  you,  Allie.  I  don't  like  the  way  you  have 
been  treating  me.  I  have  stood  a  great  deal  from 
you.  By  G — d!  I  can't  stand  much  more." 

"  You'll  have  to  stand  it:  "  retorted  the  woman. 
"  And  let  me  tell  you  one  thing:  If  you  keep  on  at 
me  on  these  things,  I'll  get  tired  of  it  after  a  while, 
and  shake  you  entirely.  I  think  that,  if  I  were  to 
go  to  Mr.  ,  the  detective,  whose  acquaint- 
ance I  made  in  Hamilton,  and  tell  him  all  I  know, 
he  would  pay  me  much  better  than  you  or  any  of 
the  gang  will.  So,  go  easy,  or  I  may  split."  Her 
tone  was  threatening.  I  heard  a  quick  move;  the 
next  moment  came  the  sound  of  a  struggle. 

"  By  G — d,  Allie,  I'll  kill  you!  "  came  the  hoarse, 
angry  voice  of  the  man.  I  came  to  the  conclusion 
that  he  was  strangling  her.  I  could  not  stand  by 
and  see  murder  done.  So,  without  hesitation,  I 
threw  open  the  door  and  sprang  into  the  room. 
The  next  moment  I  had  the  brute  by  the  throat. 
He  was  a  powerful  man,  and  threw  me  off  easily, 
but  I  leaped  upon  him  again.  He  seized  me  in  his 
powerful  arms  and  bore  me  back  toward  the  kitchen. 
The  woman,  who  had  risen  to  her  feet  (she 
had  been  lying  upon  the  floor  when  I  burst  into  the 
room),  opened  the  door,  and  then  threw  opea 


196       THE  GREAT  CRONIN  MYSTERY 

another.     A   damp,  chilly  blast  of  air  struck  upon 
my  face. 

I  felt  myself  being  pressed  backward.  I  strug- 
gled, but  could  not  help  myself.  The  next  moment 
I  fell  —  down  —  down.  I  heard  the  voice  of  the 
man  as  I  fell  down  the  cellar  stairs  :  "  There,  curse 
you  ;  lie  there  !  "  he  growled.  A  sensation  of 
pain  in  my  left  arm  when  I  reached  the  bottom, 
and  then  I  became  unconscious. 


HARD    FACT  197 


CHAPTER  XXIII. 

HARD  FACT  —  HISTORY  TRUE,  RELIABLE  AND 
COMPLETE  —  TRUTH  SILENCES  FICTION — A 
WORD  FOR  MEN  MISJUDGED  —  IRISHMEN  ARE 
NOT  ASSASSINS  —  ADOPTED  CITIZENS  WHO  ARE 
AN  HONOR  TO  OUR  LAND  —  A  PROTEST 
AGAINST  PREJUDICE. 

AND  here  the  story  of  individual  detective  work 
closes. 

Stern,  unshrinking  law  takes  in  its  own  hand  the 
detection  and  punishment  of  the  conspirators  and 
their  murderous  emissaries.  Avowedly  the  law 
is  on  the  trail  of  all  connected  with  this  cowardly 
assassination.  Openly  it  is  proclaimed  that  escape 
shall  not  be  possible  to  any  upon  whom  has  fallen 
a  drop  of  slaughtered  Cronin's  blood. 

Unmasking  the  '  plotters  who  conceived  and 
directed  the  deed,  unearthing  the  hiding,  skulking, 
fleeing  assassins,  who,  for  money,  or  in  fanatical 
zeal,  imbrued  their  hands  in  the  blood  of  brave, 
honest  Cronin,  the  law  opens,  from  day  to  day, 
page  after  page  of  romance;  so  varied  in  its  phases, 
so  far-reaching  in  its  measures,  so  terrible  in  its 
reality,  that  the  wildest  flights  of  imagination  be- 
come tame  in  comparison  with  truth. 

History,  attested  fact,  proven  deeds,  will  fill  our 
record  from  this  page  on,  until  the  end.  No  more 
seeking  after  clues,  no  more  speculation,  suggestion, 
or  hunting  in  the  dark. 


198  THE    GREAT    CRONIN    MYSTERY 

The  motive,  the  cause  for  which  gallant,  patri- 
otic, self-sacrificing  Cronin  was  hated,  was  feared, 
was  hunted  down  and  brutally  butchered  ;  the  men 
who  planned,  and  the  vile  tools  who  executed,  their 
sentence  of  death,  are  known  ;  in  the  minds  of 
every  thinking  human  being,  who  loves  fair  deal- 
ing, who  believes  in  justice,  right,  liberty,  honesty 
and  truth,  these  men  stand  to-day,  while  these  words 
are  written,  with  the  brand  of  Cain  upon  their 
brows. 

The  unthinking,  the  prejudiced,  rail  loudly  and 
unreasonably  against  all  connected  with  the  United 
Brotherhood,  with  the  Clan-na-Gael;  they  cry  out 
"  murder  "  against  every  man  of  Irish  birth,  against 
every  man  who  would  see  old  Ireland  a  land  of 
liberty,  a  nation  free  and  independent. 

This  is  wrong,  unjust;  terribly  unfair  to  the  vast 
majority  of  the  natives  of  the  "  Old  Sod,"  who 
have  become  American  citizens  in  the  truest, 
widest  sense  of  that  proud  title,  who  have  aided  in 
building  up  our  nation,  who  have  added  to  and  are 
still  increasing  our  wealth,  who  are  among  the  most 
energetic,  patriotic,  liberal  and  enlightened  of  every 
community  in  this  broad  land  from  ocean  to  ocean; 
who  have  fought  our  battles,  on  sea  and  land,  from 
'76,  when  we  conquered  our  independence  from  the 
most  powerful,  richest  nation  of  this  earth,  to  '61— 
'65,  when  blood  was  poured  out  like  rain  from  the 
heavens  that  the  life  and  liberties  of  the  American 
people  might  not  perish,  that  the  grand  republic,  in 
which  all  men  stand  free  and  equal  before  the  law, 
where  each  individual  citizen,  and  "  the  stranger 


HARD    FACT 

within  our  gates  "  is  entitled  to,  and  protected  in, 
his  pursuits  of  life,  liberty  and  happiness. 

True  men  as  ever  spoke  for  the  right,  and  offered 
up  their  lives  for  truth  and  justice,  freedom  and 
country,  exist  to-day  in  this  land,  and  are  Irishmen 
by  birth,  American  citizens  by  adoption,  members 
of  the  United  Brotherhood,  Clan-na-Gael  and 
kindred  societies  that  would,  by  fair  fighting,  by 
legitimate  war,  free  Ireland  from  the  grasp  of 
Britain;  and  these  are  as  unhesitating  in  their 
loud-spoken  condemnation  of  the  conspirators,  as 
untiring  in  their  efforts,  and  as  unsparing  of  their 
means  to  bring  to  the  bar  of  justice  the  assassins 
of  Patrick  Henry  Cronin,  as  ever  were  the  strictest 
believers  in,  and  enforcers  of,  sternest  Mosaic  law. 
This  we  write  here  in  protest  against  the  denuncia- 
tion and  clamor  indulged  in  by  some  against  every 
man  connected  with  organizations  having  for  their 
object  the  liberation  of  Ireland.  Hot-headed,  rash 
and  often  unwise,  the  Irish  may  be;  but,  as  a  class, 
they  are  patriotic,  brave  and  honest,  and  men  pos- 
sessing these  attributes  scorn  to  stoop  to,  detest  in 
their  souls,  all  underhand  measures,  all  robbery, 
all  assassination. 

No  nationality,  community,  creed  or  society 
can  lay  claim  to  universal  virtue,  to  untainted  truth 
and  honor  in  every  individual  member.  In  state 
and  church,  in  political,  social,  military,  business, 
religious  walks  of  life,  there  are  those  who,  from 
cupidity,  malice,  love  of  or  desire  for  power,  fear, 
hatred,  envy  or  general  natural  depravity,  disgrace 
the  name  of  man.  Sad  to  say  these  can  always 


2OO       THE  GREAT  CRONIN  MYSTERY 

find  dupes  within  their  particular  church,  society, 
order,  or  whatever  organization  they  may  happen 
to  be  connected  with,  to  unwittingly  aid  them  in 
carrying  out  their  nefarious  schemes  for  personal 
aggrandizement.  The  society  of  the  United 
Brotherhood  has  proven  no  exception  to  the  rule, 
and  in  no  fair  mind,  as  is  well  remarked  by  the 
Chicago  Herald,  will  prejudice  be  created  by  the 
Cronin  murder  against  the  just  cause  of  Ireland. 
It  was  one  of  the  crimes  committed  in  the  name  of 
liberty  by  the  worst  enemies  of  liberty  regulated 
by  law.  Like  other  crimes  of  fanatical  and  frenzied 
men,  or  of  conspirators  more  guilty  than  those  who 
directly  committed  the  crime,  it  must  be  charged 
to  its  individual  authors,  not  to  the  people  whose 
name  was  foully  abused  in  using  it  as  a  cloak  for 
the  transaction.  The  great  Irish  parliamentary  and 
political  leaders  are  not  assassins ;  they  do  not 
approve  of  assassination.  They  know  the  truth, 
that  a  good  cause  cannot  be  promoted  by  criminal 
means  or  agencies.  And  it  must  be  recollected 
that  all  the  facts  in  regard  to  the  Cronin  murder 
indicate  that  this  act  of  assassination  was  not 
instigated  for  the  purpose  of  "  removing  "  an  open 
or  secret  enemy  of  Ireland,  but,  as  is  alleged,  for  the 
purpose  of  destroying  a  witness  who  had  declared 
that  a  sordid  and  rascally  embezzlement  had  been 
perpetrated,  and  for  the  purpose  of  destroying  all 
the  testimony  which  he  had,  or  claimed  that  he  had, 
in  his  possession. 

No ;   it  was  not   a  political   assassination.      Dr. 
Cronin    was    not    "  removed "    by    Irish   patriots 


HARD  FACT  2OI 

because  of  a  suspicion  of  his  unfaithfulness  to  his 
native  land.  His  whole  life  was  an  open  book  to 
his  brother  patriots,  in  which  they  read  his  whole- 
souled  devotion  to  the  cause  of  Irish  liberty.  With 
them  his  memory  is  secure. 

It  is  they  who  have  most  urgently  demanded  that 
the  laws  be  enforced,  that  justice  be  done  ;  that 
whoever,  no  matter  what  his  station  in  life,  has  in  any 
way  contributed  to  his  atrocious  taking  ofif,  shall  be 
punished  to  the  full  extent  of  the  law  ;  that  those 
who  condone  it  shall  hereafter  be  held  up  to  the 
scorn  of  law-abiding  people,  and  a  watch  be  put 
upon  them  that  the  virus  of  their  vile  nature  may 
not  be  propagated. 

It  is  idle  for  the  friends  of  the  foul  conspirators 
who  sent  Dr.  Cronin  to  his  untimely  death,  to 
endeavor  to  besmirch  his  character,  either  as  a  man, 
an  American  citizen  or  an  Irish  patriot.  One  who 
knew  him  intimately,  said  of  him,  that  his  life  from 
birth  to  death  will  bear  the  closest  scrutiny.  Born 
in  Buttevant,  County  Cork,  Ireland,  on  Easter  Sun- 
day, in  1846,  he  came  to  New  York  in  1848.  Here 
the  family  were  united  with  the  father  and  elder 
brother,  who  had  come  to  New  York  a  year  before. 
After  a  residence  of  seven  years  in  New  York, 
during  whicb  his  father  had  become  a  citizen  of  the 
United  States,  the  family  removed  to  St.  Catha- 
rines, Upper  Canada,  where  young  Cronin  attended 
school,  and  passed  the  next  eleven  years  of  his 
life. 

During  this  time,  remembering  and  admiring  our 
American  institutions,  the  impression  made  upon 


202  THE   GREAT   CRONIN   MYSTERY 

him  grew  with  his  mind,  and  he  was  always  ready 
to  explain  and  defend  American  ideas.  When  the 
United  States  was  threatened  with  a  war  with 
England,  at  the  time  of  the  Mason  and  Slidell  dif- 
ficulty, he  crossed  over  to  Buffalo,  and  sought  to 
enlist,  that  he  might,  with  his  life's  blood,  if  neces- 
sary, help  to  perpetuate  the  republican  form  of 
government.  But  he  was  refused  enlistment  on 
account  of  his  youth. 

It  has  been  charged  to  Dr.  Cronin,  as  a  crime, 
that  he  belonged  to  a  Canadian  militia  company. 
Yes,  he  did  belong  to  a  Canadian  militia  company. 
There  were  several  Irish  volunteer  companies  in 
Canada,  and  he  was  a  member  of  one  of  them. 
There  was  but  one  member  of  this  company  who 
was  not  an  Irishman.  It  was  properly,  or  igno- 
miniously,  as  the  case  might  be,  called  the  Hiber- 
nian Rifles,  the  Irish  Brigade,  the  Rebel  Irish,  the 
Murphy  Guards,  and  other  similar  names.  This 
company  had  but  a  short  and  inglorious  career. 
Suspected  by  the  authorities,  the  community  barely 
tolerating  it,  it  struggled  along  a  few  years  and  was 
disbanded.  Why  was  it  disbanded?  It  has  been 
charged,  and  the  charge  has  created  a  prejudice 
against  Dr.  Cronin  in  the  minds  of  many  nation- 
alists, that  he  took  the  oath  of  allegiance  to  Queen 
Victoria  while  a  member  of  this  company.  The 
malignity  of  this  charge  is  shown  by  the  fact  that  it 
was  not  promulgated  until  Cronin's  corpse  had  been 
thrown  into  the  sewer  in  Lake  View.  Now,  the 
fact  is  that  that  company  was  disbanded  for  refus- 
ing to  take  the  oath  of  allegiance  to  Queen  Victoria. 


HARD   FACT  2O3 

To  have  been  a  member  of  this  company  was  no 
disbarment  to  American  citizenship.  Many  of  that 
company  are  to-day  respected  citizens  of  this  coun- 
try. Some  of  them  sleep  in  Virginia  soil,  having 
given  up  their  lives  in  defense  of  the  Union,  and 
others  are  members  of  the  Grand  Army  of  the 
Republic,  and  proudly  wear  its  distinguishing 
badge. 

Why,  then,  should  this  thing  be  charged  against 
Dr.  Cronin?  Simply  to  play  upon  the  prejudice  of 
weak-minded  men. 

Cronin's  life  will  bear  the  closest  scrutiny  of  the 
public.  How  much  scrutiny  can  his  traducers 
stand  without  wincing?  Not  even  the  hired  sleuths 
who,  at  the  bidding  of  his  enemies,  tracked  his  resi- 
dence from  point  to  point,  could  find  anything  upon 
which  to  found  a  suspicion.  When  they  visited 
St.  Catharines  they  sought,  not  those  who  knew 
him  best,  but  those  who  were  unfriendly  to  him 
because  of  his  known  Irish  nationalism,  or  those 
who  knew  but  little  of  him.  They  saw  but  one  old 
lady,  a  relation  of  his,  and  her  they  deceived. 

Young  Cronin  came  back  to  the  United  States  in 
1865,  before  he  had  attained  his  majority  and  before 
the  Fenian  invasion  of  Canada.  At  this  time  he 
was  struggling  in  Pennsylvania  to  win  his  way  to  a 
position  in  one  of  the  professions,  and  his  life  from 
then  until  his  death  was  a  continuous  struggle; 
never  for  himself,  but  for  the  loved  ones  at  home. 
The  good  old  father  and  mother  and  aunt  had  to  be 
provided  for.  Comfort  in  their  declining  years  must 
be  assured,  A  mortgage  had  to  be  lifted;  in  fact, 


204      THE  GREAT  CRONIN  MYSTERY 

he  had  to  perform  all  the  duties  of  a  dutiful  son, 
and  he  did  so.  The  burden  was  at  times  heavy, 
but  it  was  his  own,  and  he  went  about  it  cheerfully 
and  lovingly !  Now,  this  love's  labor  was  about  over, 
now  would  come  the  rest  and  such  pleasures  as  he 
enjoyed;  no  more  need  to  worry  and  wear.  The 
past  life  was  well  spent,  and  his  work  well  done. 

A  pitying  cry  for  help  comes.  He  goes;  and, 
O  God!  what  a  crime  was  this  to  be  the  reward  for 
his  life  struggle,  for  his  love  for  father,  his  duties 
as  a  citizen  faithfully  performed,  his  sacrifice  and 
work  for  Ireland?  Could  they  have  known  the 
man  and  have  done  this  bloody  deed?  Could  they 
have  had  no  pity  in  their  hearts,  no  mercy  in  that 
awful  moment  when  he  turned  his  eyes  upon  them? 

It  came  natural  for  Dr.  Cronin  to  be  good  and 
kind  and  brave.  His  early  training  had  been 
religious  and  proper;  he  had  drawn  with  his  moth- 
er's milk  a  veneration  for  religion,  and  an  apprecia- 
tion of  those  manly  qualities  for  which,  wherever 
he  was  known,  he  was  respected. 

This,  in  brief,  is  the  record  of  Dr.  Cronin's  life, 
as  stated  by  one  who  knew  him  intimately  from 
boyhood,  and  who  loved  him  as  a  brother. 

The  esteem  in  which  he  was  held  by  his  fellow- 
citizens,  may  be  judged  of  by  the  following  synop- 
sis of  the  proceedings  of  a  memorial  meeting  of 
citizens  and  Personal  Rights  League  held  in  the 
Central  Music  Hall,  Chicago,  June  28,  as  given  in 
The  Celto- American,  the  paper  of  which  Dr.  Cronin 
was  editor: 

"  The  Memorial  Meeting  of  Citizens  and  Personal 


HARD   FACT  2O5 

Rights  League  held  in  the  Central  Music  Hall  June 
28th,  was  an  eventful  meeting  ;  the  large  and  beauti- 
ful hall  was  filled  to  overflowing  with  the  very  best 
class,  of  people  made  up  of  all  nationalities,  the 
stage  W2.3  crowded  with  clergy  and  people  of  all 
denominations.  The  German  and  Swiss  Singing 
Societies  and  Schweizer  Maennerchor  rendered 
beautiful  choruses  ;  an  original  poem  was  prepared 
and  read  ;  Bishop  Cheney,  United  States  Senator 
C.  B.  Farwell,  Judge  Richard  Prendergast,  Robert 
Lindblom,  Louis  Nettlehorst,  Dr.  G.  Frank  Lyd- 
ston,  Hon.  Frank  Lawler,  Hon.  Geo.  E.  Adams, 
Chas.  H.  Dixon  and  E.  A.  Stevens  delivered  pas- 
sionate and  eloquent  speeches  on  the  foul  murder 
of  Dr.  Cronin.  We  herewith  give  short  extracts 
from  each  of  the  speeches,  to  illustrate  the  standing 
and  high  character  of  our  distinguished  and  lamented 
deceased  fellow-citizen: 

EXTRACT  FROM  THE  SPEECH  OF  W.  P.  REND. 

"  Let  us  take  a  hurried  glance  at  certain  scenes 
connected  with  the  bloody  drama.  In  his  love  of 
liberty  and  zeal  to  advance  the  cause  of  Ireland,  Dr. 
Cronin  connected  himself  with  several  patriotic 
associations  intended  for  the  promotion  of  this 
cause.  Among  others  he  joined  the  Clan-na-Gael, 
but  he  found  this  society  dominated  by  a  certain 
conspiracy  of  men  posing  as  patriots.  They  were 
false  patriots,  however.  They  were  only  patriots 
for  plunder.  [Applause.]  He  unmasked  their 
schemes,  he  denounced  their  villainies.  Here 
his  trials  and  troubles  began.  Thenceforward 


2O6  THE   GREAT   CRONIN   MYSTERY 

his  steps  were  dogged  by  spies  and  scoun- 
drels. Efforts  were  made  to  attack  and  assas- 
sinate him  in  his  character.  He  was  brought  into 
court  as  a  witness  in  a  fictitious  case.  His  whole 
life  was  inquired  into.  Hired  detectives  were  en- 
gaged in  order  to  disgrace  and  ruin  him.  He  felt 
that  his  enemies  had  plotted  against  his  life,  and 
that  hired  thugs,  like  sleuth  hounds  thirsting  for 
his  blood,  were  following  him  bent  upon  his  destruc- 
tion. He  protested  to  his  friends  against  this 
danger  and  this  persecution.  But  in  this  civil- 
ized community  no  one  could  think  it  credible 
that  such  a  fearful  crime  could  be  even  contem- 
plated. His  friends  thought  these  fears  only  idle 
delusions.  On  the  4th  of  May,  however,  his 
unrelenting  enemies  found  means  to  execute 
their  fiendish  plot  against  his  life.  On  this 
day,  we  see  Dr.  Cronin,  in  all  the  strength  and 
vigor  of  perfect  manhood,  starting  forth  in  response 
to  a  call  for  his  assistance.  Unconscious  of  all 
danger,  he  leaves  his  office,  believing  that  he  was 
going  to  stanch  the  wounds,  bind  up  the  fractured 
limb,  and  alleviate  the  pain  of  a  suffering  fellow- 
creature.  He  little  dreamed  of  the  deep,  dark 
treachery  that  was  alluring  him  to  the  scene  of  his 
death  in  that  lonely  Carlson  cottage,  then  occupied 
by  cowardly  assassins.  On  arrival  at  this  cottage, 
he  hastens  up  the  fatal  steps.  The  door  quickly 
opens,  and  quickly  closes  upon  him.  He  rushes 
unarmed,  helpless  and  alone  into  the  very  arms  of 
his  murderers.  The  bludgeon  soon  does  its  tragic 
and  deadly  work.  He  falls  prostrate  upon  the  floor 


HARD    FACT  2O? 

in  the  crimson  pool  formed  by  the  blood  gushing 
from  his  gaping  wounds.  The  walls  give  forth  his 
faint  cry  for  assistance  and  mercy.  His  life  is  soon 
beat  out.  He  dies  a  most  tragic  death.  The  sight 
of  his  mangled  and  lifeless  body  satiates  the  hellish 
hate  of  his  brutal  butchers.  They  gloat  with 
savage  joy  over  this  prostrate,  bleeding  body. 
Denuded  of  his  clothes,  his  corpse  is  next  packed  in 
a  trunk,  purchased  seventy-two  days  before  as  the 
intended  coffin  for  his  clandestine  burial.  On  that 
Sunday  morning,  so  sacred  to  God's  worship, 
while  the  pitying  stars  of  heaven  are  looking  down 
upon  the  cruel  fate  of  this  murdered  man,  these 
fiendish  assassins  convey  his  corpse  through  the 
streets  of  our  city  and  throw  it  into  the  catch-basin 
of  a  public  sewer.  Here  they  believe  his  body 
will  soon  decay  beyond  any  chance  of  recognition. 
Here,  with  this  body,  they  imagine  that  this  horrid 
crime  will  also  be  buried  in  eternal  silence.  Believ- 
ing that  evidence-s  of  the  crime  are  hidden,  and 
that  the  concealed  body  will  never  be  discovered, 
his  murderers  made  light  of  his  disappearance,  and 
calumniated  his  fair  name  by  the  most  atrocious 
slander.  False  rumors  are  spread.  The  public  are 
informed  that  he  fled  to  escape  the  exposure  of  the 
consequences  of  some  disgraceful  crime,  or  that  he 
was  a  British  spy,  and  had  gone  to  join  Le  Caron. 
These  and  other  infamies  were  heaped  upon  his 
memory.  '  Murder  will  out,'  however,  proved 
true  in  this  case,  as  in  many  other  foul  massacres. 
After  a  few  days  his  body  is  found;  it  is  identified, 
and  its  shattered  skull  gives  startling  evidence  of 


208  THE   GREAT   CRONIN   MYSTERY 

the  foul,  murderous  deed.  His  funeral,  attended 
by  thousands  of  friends,  who  followed  his  hearse 
with  sorrow  stamped  upon  their  countenances, 
took  place,  and  Dr.  Cronin  is  laid  to  rest  forever." 

EXTRACTS  FROM  ROBERT  LINDBLOM'S  SPEECH. 

"  Your  presence  here  is  a  reassuring  sign  of  the 
vitality  of  that  beautiful  human  sympathy  that  lives 
in  spite  of  creeds  and  clans  and  bans.  It  inspires 
hope  for  the  future,  and  justice  for  the  present. 
Why  are  we  here?  What  is  the  occasion?  A  man 
is  dead  —  but  hundreds  of  men  may  die  every  week 
in  Chicago  without  disturbing  the  tranquillity  of  soci- 
ety. It  is  not  because  Dr.  Cronin  was  murdered, 
because  hardly  a  day  passes  without  murder, 
and  the  public  pulse  beats  no  faster.  It  is  not 
because  of  any  special  respect  for  the  dead  man, 
because,  outside  of  a  comparative  narrow  circle,  Dr. 
Cronin  was  not  known;  but  now  that  the  world's 
attention  has  been  focused  upon  him,  he  is  found  to 
be  a  hero,  a  gallant  knight  fighting  against  odds, 
his  life  in  daily  peril,  a  breastwork  which  the  sharp 
lances  of  slander,  the  intrigues  of  corruption  and 
threatened  murder  could  neither  conquer  nor  seduce 
to  surrender.  There  he  stood,  surrounded  by 
bloody  assassins,  defying  danger,  while  in  the  name 
of  honesty  he  demanded  that  those  in  whose  hands 
the  simple  sons  and  daughters  of  fair  Erin  had 
intrusted  their  hard-earned  savings  in  order  that 
the  land  of  their  birth  might  be  free,  should  be  com- 
pelled to  give  a  fair  account  of  their  stewardship, 
and  that  from  the  name  of  Ireland  might  be  removed 


HARD   FACT  2Og 

the  horrible  suspicion  that  this  money  had  been 
used  by  the  guardians  of  it  for  the  purpose  of  lur- 
ing patriotic  men  to  death,  in  order  to  cover  up 
petty  larceny.  The  human  mind  can  hardly  con- 
template such  monstrous  iniquity,  and  the  Irish- 
man who  opposes  in  any  way  a  full  exposure  and 
swift  retribution  is  a  disgrace  to  his  race,  and  a 
traitor  to  every  noble  instinct." 

EXTRACT  FROM  JUDGE  PRENDERGAST'S  SPEECH. 

"  Now,  what  are  the  circumstances  of  this  murder? 
It  has  been  said,  as  a  ground  of  defense,  that  Dr. 
Cronin  was  a  spy  [hisses];  that  Le  Caron  de- 
nounced him  as  a  spy.  Why,  Dr.  Cronin  expressed 
his  fear  of  death  once  before  Le  Caron  parted 
from  his  friends  in  Chicago.  [Applause.]  Was 
Cronin  a  spy  ?  [Criesof  no,  no.]  Was  he  known 
to  be  such  before  Le  Caron  testified.  [Louder  cries 
of  no,  no.]  Why,  a  spy  knowing  that  his  meaning 
and  purpose  is  suspected  is  very  anxious  to  get  out 
of  the  way.  This  man  carried  his  life  in  his  hand, 
and  did  it  for  years.  The  talk  of  his  being  a  spy  is 
sheer  nonsense  ;  it  matters  not  who  makes  the  state- 
ment, whether  directly  or  by  insinuation,  he  lies 

in  his  throat. 

*  *  *  #  *  * 

"  That  statement  answers  the  slander,  and,  in  an- 
swering one,  shows  proof  of  falsity  of  all.  Here, 
where  Dr.  Cronin  spent  so  many  years  of  his  life,  we 
can  safely  affirm,  as  this  meeting  does  affirm,  that, 
tested  by  his  career  and  by  every  fact  and  circum- 
stance brought  to  light,  Dr.  Cronin  was  an  unselfish, 
Cronin  Mystery  14. 


2IO  THE   GREAT  CRONIN  MYSTERY 

a  public-spirited,  an  honorable  and  an  honest  man. 
[Loud  applause.]  And  those  who  hated  him  and 
lured  him  to  his  death  did  so  because  of  that  char- 
acter of  his  [renewed  applause],  which  could  neither 
be  bent  or  broken,  swerved  nor  turned  aside  by 
threats  against  his  life,  by  attacks  against  his  life, 
by  plots  against  his  life." 

EXTRACT  FROM   UNITED   STATES  SENATOR  C.  B. 
FARWELL'S  SPEECH. 

"  The  murder  of  Dr.  P.  H.  Cronin  was  un-Amer- 
ican, un-Irish  and  un-Christian.  As  citizens  of 
Chicago  we  owe  it  to  our  fair  city  to  leave  nothing 
undone  to  bring  to  justice  every  man  connected  with 
that  barbarous  murder,  no  matter  who  it  may  be 
or  what  his  heretofore  position  was.  There  are 
times  when  vigilance  would  seem  to  be  one-sided. 
In  this  case  we  must  be  so  vigilant  that  no  guilty 
man  must  escape." 

EXTRACT  FROM    THE    SPEECH   OF   MR.  LOUIS    NET- 
TLEHORST. 

"  Not  only  the  friends  and  intimate  acquaintances 
of  Dr.  Cronin  are  represented;  I  feel  satisfied  there 
are  among  you  a  great  many  who  have  never  seen 
our  poor  friend  while  he  was  alive;  only  know  him 
to  be  an  honorable  man  of  high  culture  and  attain- 
ments, a  good  public-spirited  citizen,  a  true  and 
faithful  friend,  a  warm-hearted,  whole-souled  fel- 
low, whose  memory  you  honor  by  your  presence." 


HARD   FACT  211 

FROM  THE  SPEECH  OF  HON.  FRANK  LAWLER,  M.  C. 

"  The  vast  concourse  that  turned  out  to  pay  their 
respect  to  the  memory  of  Dr.  Cronin  when  that 
sad  and  solemn  demonstration  conveyed  his  re- 
mains to  their  last  resting  place,  gave  an  unanswera- 
ble testimony  to  him  who  lived  a  Christian  and 
patriotic  life,  and  it  should  convey  to  his  enemies 
in  no  uncertain  language  the  fact  that  the  people 
of  Chicago  knew  Dr.  Cronin  to  be  an  Irish-Ameri- 
can gentleman,  faithful  to  his  native  as  he  was  true 
to  his  adopted  country." 

RESOLUTIONS. 

Charles  Bary,  attorney  of  the  league,  presented 
the  following  resolutions,  which  were  passed  unan- 
imously by  a  rising  vote  : 

"  We,  as  citizens  of  the  United  States,  residents  of 
the  cosmopolitan  city  of  Chicago,  in  mass-meeting 
assembled  to  do  honor  to  the  memory  of  a  fellow- 
citizen,  Dr.  P.  H.  Cronin,  who,  because  he  advo- 
cated that  which  seemed  right  to  him,  we  believe 
to  have  been  a  victim  of  a  conspiracy  concocted  for 
basest  purposes,  and  appalled  by  the  monstrous 
cruelty  of  this  murder. 

"  WE  DECLARE: 

"  I.  That,  from  the  facts  so  far  made  public,  it 
seems  the  assassination  of  Dr.  P.  H.  Cronin  was 
instigated  by  most  foul  and  criminal  malice. 

"  II.  Every  citizen  has  a  right  to  life,  liberty  and 
property  guaranteed  by  the  laws  of  the  land,  and  it 
is  utterly  foreign  to  the  spirit  of  our  people,  as  well 


212       THE  GREAT  CRONIN  MYSTERY 

as  the  laws,  that  any  man  be  deprived  of  either 
except  by  due  process  of  law. 

"  III.  That  we  hold  no  nationality  or  organiza- 
tion responsible  for  the  crime  nor  for  the  causes 
which  led  to  it. 

"  IV.  That  we  honor  and  respect  love  for  native 
land,  but  condemn  perversion  of  that  noble  senti- 
ment to  personal  ends. 

"  V.  That  we  hope  no  lawful  means  will  be  neg- 
lected to  bring  to  justice  the  instigators  and  perpe- 
trators of  this  atrocious  crime;  and  that  we  resent 
as  a  public  outrage  any  attempt  to  clog  the  wheels 
of  justice  or  to  use  undue  influence  to  shield  the 
guilty.  Public  officers  must  feel  that  their  highest 
duty  is  to  the  people. 

"  VI.  We  call  upon  the  public  prosecutors  to 
see  to  it  that  no  innocent  man  is  condemned,  and 
that  no  guilty  man  escapes. 

"  Therefore,  be  it 

"  Resolved,  That  we  encourage  all  lawful  efforts 
to  bring  to  justice,  which  shall  not  discriminate,  and 
to  adequate  punishment,  the  instigators  and  perpe- 
trators of  this  murder. " 

The  resolutions  were  carried  unanimously,  and 
the  meeting  adjourned  after  singing  the  "  Star 
Spangled  Banner." 

The  sixth  annual  convention  of  Catholic  Forest- 
ers, who  met  in  Chicago,  June  6,  and  in  which 
were  represented  Illinois,  Indiana,  Minnesota  and 
Wisconsin,  passed  the  following  resolutions: 

"  WHEREAS,   Since  the  last  annual  session  of 
this  High  Court  one  of  our  most  valued  and  active 


HARD   FACT  213 

Catholic  Foresters,  an  ex-member  of  our  Board 
of  Directors,  and  four  times  a  member  of  this  High 
Court,  Dr.  P.  H.  Cronin,  met  with  a  most  violent 
death  at  the  hands  of  some  unknown  persons  who, 
not  having  the  welfare  of  mankind  nor  the  fear  of 
God  in  their  hearts,  deprived  us  of  a  dear,  well- 
beloved  brother,  society  of  a  talented  ornament, 
our  nation  a  distinguished  citizen,  and  all  of  us  a 
dear  personal  friend;  therefore  be  it 

"  Resolved,  That  this  High  Court,  in  annual  ses- 
sion, place  on  record  our  grief  at  the  death  of  Dr. 
P.  H.  Cronin,  our  acknowledgment  of  his  valuable 
and  generous  qualities  of  both  head  and  heart,  of 
his  services  to  this  order,  and  our  utter  detestation 
of  the  unchristian  crime  by  which  he  was  taken 
from  us. 

"  Resolved,  That  the  Catholic  Order  of  Foresters 
join  with  all  good  citizens  in  condemning  this  ter- 
rible crime,  and  in  the  effort  to  discover  and  bring 
to  justice  the  unprecedented,  cruel  murderers  of 
Dr.  P.  H.  Cronin. 

"  Resolved,  That  copies  of  these  resolutions  be 
forwarded  to  every  court  of  this  order  and  read 
at  a  regular  meeting  of  the  same,  and  a  copy  sent 
to  the  family  of  the  deceased  brother,  and  that  it 
be  suitably  engrossed  and  placed  in  our  head- 
quarters, and  that  the  same  be  draped  in  mourning 
for  thirty  days,  and  these  resolutions  be  published 
in  the  press." 

Similar  resolutions  were  adopted  by  the  State 
Convention  of  Ancient  Order  of  Hibernians, 
Cathedral  Court  No.  36,  C.  O.  F.,  of  which  Dr. 


214      THE  GREAT  CRONIN  MYSTERY 

Cronin  was  a  member,  the  Royal  Arcanum,  Ancient 
Order  of  United  Workmen,  Royal  League,  and 
Independent  Foresters,  numbering 75,000  members 
in  the  State  of  Illinois. 


ALEXANDER  SULLIVAN.  215 


CHAPTER  XXIV. 

ALEXANDER  SULLIVAN,  THE  IRISH-AMERICAN 
LEADER,  HELD  FOR  COMPLICITY  IN  CRONIN'S 
MURDER,  TAKEN  INTO  CUSTODY,  AND  LOCKED 
IN  A  CELL  IN  THE  COUNTY  JAIL  —  A  SKETCH 
OF  ALEXANDER  SULLIVAN'S  LIFE  —  THE 
CHARGES  OF  ARSON  MADE  AGAINST  HIM  —  His 
POLITICAL  MOVEMENTS,  PROMINENCE  AND 
REWARDS  —  His  SHOOTING  OF  HANFORD  AND 
TRIAL  FOR  MURDER. 

AFTER  eight  days'  patient  investigation  of  the 
evidence  concerning  the  murder  of  Dr.  Cronin,  on 
May  4th,  the  coroner's  jury,  at  ten  o'clock  on  the 
night  of  June  II,  1889,  agreed  on  a  verdict  setting 
forth  the  circumstances  under  which  the  patriotic 
Irish  physician  was  decoyed  to  his  death,  and 
recommended  that  — 

ALEXANDER  SULLIVAN,  the  lawyer ;  P.  O'SUL- 
LIVAN,  the  Lake  View  iceman  ;  DANIEL  COUGH- 
LIN,  the  detective ;  and  FRANK  WOODRUFF,  alias 
BLACK,  be  held  as  principals  or  accessories. 

To  Officer  Palmer  was  committed  a  mittimus. 
He  proceeded  to  the  detectives'  headquarters,  and 
selected  his  men,  Williams  and  Broderick,  and  with 
them,  took  a  carriage  and  drove  to  Alexander  Sul- 
livan's house,  No.  378  Oak  street. 

He  ascended  the  steps  and  rang  the  bell,  and 
Henry  Brown,  Alexander  Sullivan's  clerk,  opened 
the  door. 


2l6 


THE    GREAT    CRONIN   MYSTERY. 


ALEXANDER  SULLIVAN. 

"Is  Mr.  Sullivan  at  home?"  inquired  Officer 
Palmer. 

"  He  is,"  said  Brown. 

"  I  want  to  see  him,"  said  Palmer. 

Without  question  or  trouble,  Alexander  Sullivan 
obeyed  the  legal  summons,  and  was  without  trouble 
conveyed  to  the  County  Jail. 

The  night  of  June  1 1,  1889,  found  this  man  once 
more  in  the  cell  of  a  prison.  He  was  a  prisoner 
charged  with  COMPLICITY  in  one  of  the  most  das- 
tardly and  cold-blooded  murders  ever  perpetrated 
in  the  midst  of  a  civilized  community. 

He  walked  once  or  twice  back  and  forth  in  the 
inner  corridor  until  the  bedding  of  cell  No.  25, 


ALEXANDER   SULLIVAN 


217 


"  Murderer's  Row, "  was  arranged,  and  then   and 
there  he  was  locked  in. 

THE  CIVIL  AND  POLITICAL  CAREER  OF  ALEXANDER 
SULLIVAN. 

From  his  name  and  the  active,  restless,  self- 
assertive  part  he  has  taken  in  Irish  affairs,  most 
persons  would  naturally  conclude  that  Alexander 
Sullivan  was  by  birth  a  native  Irishman. 

Truth  sifts  out  the  fact  that  he  was  born  in 
Amherstburg,  Ont.,  where  his  father  was  stationed 
in  the  British  military  service.  In  his  youth  he 
went  to  Detroit,  and  was  employed  by  A.  J.  Bour 
in  a  shoe  store.  He  afterward  engaged  in  that 
business  for  himself,  but  was  unsuccessful  in  trade, 
and  his  place  was  destroyed  by  fire.  It  was 
charged  that  he  was  the  incendiary,  but  on  investi- 
gation nothing  could  be  proven  against  him. 

Early  in  life  he  made  himself  conspicuous  as  an 
advocate  for  Labor  rights.  In  the  political  cam- 
paign of  1868  he  "stumped  the  State"  for  the 
Republican  party,  and  through  his  polished  and 
forcible  oratory  did  service  that  was  acknowledged 
by  his  appointment  as  collector  of  Internal  Rev- 
enue at  Santa  Fe,  New  Mexico.  The  Senate, 
however,  refused  to  confirm  his  appointment, 
but  subsequently  he  was  made  Secretary  of 
the  Territory.  He  established  a  newspaper  in 
Santa  F6,  and  managed  to  become  embroiled  in 


2l8      THE  GREAT  CRONIN  MYSTERY 

a  shooting  scrape  on  account  of  articles  published 
in  his  paper.  According  to  Henry  Wieter,  who 
was  at  that  time  register  of  the  government  land 
office  at  Santa  Fe,  and  afterward  was  a  witness  for 
Sullivan  in  the  first  Hanford  trial,  the  difficulty  was 
occasioned  by  one  of  Sullivan's  articles  in  the  Post, 
which  had  reflected  rather  strongly  upon  one  Gen- 
eral Heath.  If  Wieter  may  be  believed,  Sullivan 
was  entering  a  shop  door  one  day,  when  Heath 
attacked  him.  Two  harmless  shots  were  fired  by 
Heath,  which  Sullivan  did  not  return.  He  was 
unarmed,  his  witness  added.  Afterward  Sullivan 
passed  Heath's  house,  and  the  latter  discharged  the 
contents  of  his  carbine  at  the  editor,  revenue  col- 
lector and  postmaster,  who  answered  with  his 
revolver.  Both  men  were  indicted,  and  released  on 
bail.  Heath  decamped,  while  Sullivan  was  tried 
and  acquitted.  "  I  do  not  know,"  Mr.  Wieter  tes- 
tified, "  whether  or  not  he  was  a  defaulter  to  the 
government." 

On  April  18,  1872,  Sullivan  left  Santa  Fe  and 
the  Territory,  and  went  to  Washington.  Thence  he 
moved  to  New  York,  and,  in  the  spring  of  1873,  he 
came  to  Chicago.  Miss  Buchanan  had  arrived  here 
in  the  meantime.  The  year  of  her  fiance's  advent 
she  was  seriously  injured.  The  pole  of  an  omnibus 
crashed  into  a  street  car  of  which  she  was  an  occu- 
pant, struck  her  in  the  back,  and  disabled  her  for 
several  months.  In  November,  1874,  they  were 
married. 

Some  time  in  1873  one  Fitzgibbons  published  an 
article  on  "  Unsexed  Women,"  in  which  reference 


ALEXANDER   SULLIVAN  219 

was  made  to  Miss  Buchanan.  Sullivan  admitted, 
upon  his  cross-examination  by  State's  Attorney 
Reed  in  the  Hanford  trial,  that  he  had  gone  to  Fitz- 
gibbons'  office  "  to  see  him  about  it,"  and  that  he 
had  a  revolver  in  his  pocket  at  the  time. 

When  Sullivan  came  to  Chicago  he  obtained  a 
situation  on  the  Post  as  telegraph  editor.  Then  he 
became  a  reporter  on  the  Inter  Ocean,  and  subse- 
quently did  reportorial  work  on  the  Times.  On 
February  14,  1876,  he  was  appointed  secretary  of 
the  Board  of  Public  Works.  Six  months  afterward 
he  shot  and  killed  Francis  Hanford,  Principal  of  the 
North  Division  High  School,  and  formerly  Assist- 
ant Superintendent  of  Schools. 

Mayor  Colvin  was  in  office  at  the  time  the  trou- 
bles began,  and  there  had  been  a  good  deal  of  talk 
about  an  alleged  "  ring  "  in  the  Board  of  Educa- 
tion. Besides  this,  Wilbur  F.  Storey,  through  his 
newspaper,  had  made  serious  charges  of  licentious- 
ness and  gross  and  beastly  immorality  against  the 
mayor.  These  things  being  a  matter  of  public  dis- 
cussion, Hanford  addressed  a  communication  to 
the  City  Council,  in  which  he  used  this  language: 

"  The  instigator  and  engineer-in-chief  of  all  deviltry 
connected  with  the  legislation  of  the  Board  ("  of 
education")  is  Mrs.  Sullivan,  wife  of  the  Secretary 
of  the  Board  of  Public  Works.  Her  influence  with 
Colvin  was  proven  by  her  getting  Bailey  dismissed, 
and  her  husband  appointed  in  his  stead." 

Sullivan  heard  of  this  communication  the  same 
day.  He  at  once  went  home,  ordered  a  carriage 
and  drove  with  his  wife  and  his  brother,  Florence 


22O  THE   GREAT   CRONIN   MYSTERY 

Sullivan,  to  Hanford's  house.  The  school  teacher 
was  sitting  on  the  front  steps  of  his  house,  when  Sul- 
livan asked  him  if  his  name  was  Hanford.  They 
had  never  seen  each  other  before.  Sullivan 
demanded  an  apology,  which  was  peremptorily 
refused,  and  then  he  knocked  Hanford  down.  It 
was  charged  that  Sullivan  attempted  to  gouge  out 
his  eyes,  and  Sullivan  admitted,  during  the  subse- 
quent trial  for  murder,  that  one  of  his  thumbs  did 
accidentally  get  into  Hanford's  eye.  A  man 
named  McMullen  seized  Sullivan,  and  then  Han- 
ford, according  to  Sullivan,  attacked  Mrs.  Sullivan, 
and  struck  her  in  the  face.  Sullivan  thereupon 
drew  a  revolver  and  shot  the  school  teacher,  who 
died  in  thirty  minutes.  This  was  on  August  7, 
1876.  Sullivan  was  arrested  and  jailed.  His  trial 
began  on  October  16,  1876,  and  he  was  defended 
by  Leonard  Swett,  who  died  recently,  W.  W. 
O'Brien  and  Thomas  Moran.  State's  Attorney 
Charles  H.  Reed,  who  afterward  defended  Garfield's 
assassin,  Guiteau,  and,  later,  was  arrested  in  New 
York  for  theft,  conducted  the  prosecution.  On  Oc- 
tober 27  the  jury  announced  that  it  could  not  reach 
an  agreement,  and  was  discharged.  It  stood  eleven 
for  acquittal,  and  one  for  conviction.  F.  J.  Berry 
was  the  obstinate  juror,  and  he  received  almost  a 
public  ovation  when  his  action  became  known. 
Judge  W.  K.  McAllister  presided  at  the  trial,  and 
released  Sullivan  on  $8,000  bail.  Great  indignation 
was  expressed  at  this  and  at  his  conduct  during  the 
trial.  It  was  freely  said  that  he  had  prejudiced 
the  case  in  Sullivan's  favor,  and  loud  demands  for 


ALEXANDER    SULLIVAN  221 

his  resignation  were  made.  A  petition  asking  him 
to  vacate  his  office  was  circulated,  and  received 
several  thousand  signatures,  all  being  those  of 
prominent  and  influential  citizens. 

Alexander  Sullivan's  second  trial  for  the  murder 
of  Francis  Hanford  began  in  March,  1877.  Luther 
Laflin  Mills  had  succeeded  Reed  as  State's  Attorney, 
and  he  conducted  the  prosecution.  W.  J.  Hynes, 
whom,  it  is  said,  Sullivan  has  now  condemned  to 
death,  through  the  Clan-na-Gael,  and  who  is  the  cus- 
todian of  Dr.  Cronin's  papers,  defended  Sullivan  in 
his  second  trial,  together  with  Emory  A.  Storrs, 
Leonard  Swett  and  Thomas  Moran.  One  week 
was  consumed  by  the  trial,  in  which  the  defense 
was  justifiable  homicide,  and  the  jury  brought  in  a 
verdict  of  "  Not  guilty." 

Since  his  acquittal,  Sullivan  has  lived  in  Chicago, 
and,  during  most  of  the  time,  has  practiced  law. 
He  has  a  good  practice,  obtained  largely  by  means 
of  his  many  secret  society  affiliations. 

Mr.  Sullivan  was  held  to  bail  in  the  sum  of  $25,- 
ooo,  to  answer  the  investigation  of  the  grand  jury 
in  the  Cronin  case.  He  promptly  gave  the  required 
bond,  and  was  discharged  from  imprisonment. 
The  grand  jury  failing  to  return  an  indictment 
against  him,  Mr.  Sullivan  made  application  in  Judge 
Baker's  court  for  release  from  his  bond.  After 
hearing  arguments  pro  and  con  Judge  Baker  dis- 
charged Mr.  Sullivan  from  bail. 

The  following  article  from  the  Herald  of  May 
29  throws  considerable  light  on  the  work  of  the 


222  THE   GREAT   CRONIN   MYSTERY 

prosecution  that  led  to  the  arrest  and  imprison- 
ment of  Mr.  Sullivan: 

Among  the  men  who  have  detectives  on  their 
track  is  Alexander  Sullivan.  He  is  the  most 
thoroughly  watched  man  in  Chicago.  Wherever 
he  goes,  day  or  night,  a  "  shadow"  is  at  his  heels. 
His  office,  on  the  seventh  floor  of  the  Opera  House 
block,  is  under  surveillance;  so  is  his  residence,  on 
Oak  street.  Mysterious-looking  men  track  him 
through  the  streets,  through  the  corridors  of  the 
Court  House,  and  in  and  about  the  offices  down- 
town where  he  transacts  his  business.  Only  when 
he  is  protected  by  the  privacy  of  his  own  house  is 
he  free  from  the  watchful  eye  of  the  "  shadow." 
Visitors  at  his  office  cannot  help  noticing  strange 
men  who  are  carelessly  lounging  in  the  corridor  of 
the  seventh  floor,  or  near  the  entrance  of  the  build- 
ing, on  Clark  street.  When  Mr.  Sullivan  goes  out 
they  disappear.  When  he  returns  they  resume 
their  stations  and  remain  on  the  look-out  until  he 
leaves  again.  It  is  claimed  that  the  police  have 
established  this  watch  on  the  famous  Irish  leader. 
Chief  Hubbard  practically  admitted  yesterday  that 
he  was  responsible  for  it,  but,  when  he  was  asked 
why  he  thought  it  necessary,  he  declined  to  say  a 
word. 

Thus  far  Alexander  Sullivan  has  been,  to  the 
reading  public,  Irish-Americans  excepted,  an  un- 
certain quantity  in  the  Cronin  case.  Only  a  few 
men  who  are  cognizant  of  all  the  evidence  that  has 
been  adduced  can  understand  why  he  has  been 
placed  under  surveillance.  The  general  public  only 


ALEXANDER   SULLIVAN  223 

knows  that  his  name  has  been  connected  with  Dr. 
Cronin's  disappearance  through  the  unguarded 
utterance  of  a  woman  who  was  being  pressed  for 
an  explanation  of  certain  statements  which  she  and 
her  husband  made  over  three  weeks  ago.  Dr.  Cro- 
nin's friends,  by  insinuation  and  innuendo,  rather 
than  by  boldly  mentioning  his  name,  have  pointed 
to  him  as  a  suspect  worth  watching  on  account  of 
his  enmity  for  the  doctor,  but  not  until  certain  state- 
ments were  made  by  leading  Irish  nationalists  was 
it  considered  necessary  to  keep  a  constant  watch 
on  his  movements.  Chief  Hubbard  admitted  yes- 
terday that  of  all  the  direct  evidence  that  has  poured 
into  his  office  not  one  single  thing  points  to  Mr. 
Sullivan's  culpability,  but  beyond  this  he  would  not 
say  a  word. 

Sullivan's  friends  take  the  position  that  he  is 
being  persecuted.  They  claim  he  is  being  made  a 
mark  of  by  men  who  have  been  opposed  to  him, 
both  in  and  out  of  secret  societies,  for  years. 
They  claim  further  that  Cronin's  friends  are  taking 
advantage  of  this  occasion  to  wash  off  long  scores 
of  personal  enmity  and  hatred,  which  they  have 
been  harboring  ever  since  he  was  elected  President 
of  the  Irish  Land  League.  Sullivan  himself  has 
taken  the  ground  from  the  outset  that  he  knew  so 
little  about  Dr.  Cronin's  life  and  habits,  and  was  so 
little  interested  in  his  affairs,  that  neither  he  nor  his 
friends  could  have  any  interest  in  his  death.  On 
the  other  hand  Dr.  Cronin's  friends  have  submitted 
the  records  of  nationalistic  societies  to  prove  that 
Sullivan  and  the  doctor  were  the  bitterest  of  ene- 


224       THE  GREAT  CRONIN  MYSTERY 

mies,  and  that  the  latter  was  constantly  working  to 
expose  defalcations  of  the  former  and  thereby 
destroy  his  power  and  reputation. 

It  is  not  to  favor  or  prejudice  the  cause  of  any  of 
the  parties  charged  with  the  murder  of  Dr.  Cronin 
that  these  pages  are  written.  It  is  simply  to  give 
the  sworn  facts  of  the  terrible  crime  and  the  circum- 
stances connected  therewith.  The  grand  jury  failed 
to  return  an  indictment  against  Alexander  Sullivan, 
and  it  would  not  be  proper  here  to  dispute  the  cor- 
rectness of  their  finding.  But  the  disclosures  made 
at  the  inquest  last  June  clearly  prove  that  the  pre- 
cautions taken  in  shadowing  his  movements  were 
beyond  question  justifiable  and  proper.  Patrick 
McGarry  testified  before  that  inquest  that  Dr. 
Cronin,  whom  he  has  known  for  six  years,  told 
him  on  two  different  occasions  that  his  life  was  in 
danger;  onee  after  the  trial  in  Buffalo,  in  1888, 
somewhere  in  September,  when  he  was  showing  the 
attitude  of  Alexander  Sullivan  on  the  trial,  when 
Cronin  said  to  McGarry,  "  Mac,  I  believe  that  man 
will  be  the  instigator  of  my  murder.  If  I  am  mur- 
dered, there  are  papers  relating  to  this  trial,  and  an 
affidavit  where  his  name  is  mentioned,  in  Mr.  Conk- 
lin's  safe.  I  will  depend  upon  you  to  see  that  the 
proper  authorities  get  them."  On  the  night  that 
Dr.  Cronin  asked  for  an  investigation  of  Alexander 
Sullivan's  methods,  he  told  Mr.  McGarry  he  "  took 
his  life  in  his  hand."  "  That  may  have  been  a  fatal 
night,"  were  the  words  he  used,  "  but,"  he  added, 
"  I  am  determined  to  show  up  Alexander  Sullivan's 


ALEXANDER   SULLIVAN  225 

thievery  and  treachery  to  the  Irish  people,  even  if 
my  life  is  taken  for  it." 

When  asked  what  Dr.  Cronin  said  to  him  about 
the  trial  in  Buffalo  in  1888,  and  what  it  was  all 
about,  Mr.  McGarry  replied: 

"  That  trial  was  by  a  committee  o»  six,  which  was 
appointed  to  investigate  the  transactions  of  an 
organization  that  Alexander  Sullivan  was  at  one 
time  the  head  of,  and  he  was  accused  of  appro- 
priating moneys  collected  for  that  organization  to 
his  own  use,  and  also  of  consigning  good  men  in  the 
organization  to  British  prisons  and  to  death." 

"  Did  Dr.  Cronin  ever  tell  you  how  much  money 
had  been  collected  for  this  society  or  misappro- 
priated? " 

"  I  cannot  remember;  but  he  said  it  would  ap- 
proximate nearly  half  a  million  of  dollars." 

"  Did  he  mention  whether  he  had  preferred 
charges,  or  whether  anybody  else  had  preferred 
charges?" 

"  He  said  that  he  had  preferred  charges,  and  he 
mentioned  other  names  of  persons  who  had  pre- 
ferred charges." 

"  Give  the  other  names,  if  you  remember. 

"  John  Devoy  and  Luke  Dillon." 

Luke  Dillon,  of  Philadelphia,  is  one  of  the  nine 
members  of  the  executive  committee  of  the  Clan- 
na-Gael  in  America,  and  his  testimony  at  the  in- 
quest was  exceedingly  interesting  and  important  as 
showing  the  connection  of  leading  members  of  the 
Clan-na-Gael  with  the  conspiracy  to  murder  Dr. 
Cronin. 

Cronin  Mystery  15 


226  THE   GREAT   CRONIN   MYSTERY 

Luke  Dillon  testified  as  follows: 

Having  stated  that  his  business  was  that  of  a 
retail  shoe  dealer,  he  was  asked  whether  he  was  a 
member  of  the  United  Brotherhood,  and  he  replied 
that  he  was. 

"  Have  you,  as  a  member  of  that  society,  taken 
an  obligation?  " 

"Yes,  sir." 

"  Is  there  anything  in  that  obligation  that  would 
conflict  with  the  duty  which  you  owe  to  your 
country,  the  United  States?" 

"  There  is  nothing  in  that  obligation  which  would 
conflict  with  my  duty  as  a  citizen  of  the  United 
States,  except  the  occasion  might  arise  when  it 
would  be  necessary  for  myself  and  other  Irishmen 
who  have  taken  this  obligation,  to  violate  the 
neutrality  laws.  Those  are  the  only  laws  which  we 
could  violate. " 

"  Can  you  state  to  the  jury  the  objects  of  your 
organization?  " 

"  The  object  of  the  organization  is  to  assist  a  like 
organization  in  Ireland  and  England  to  establish  in 
Ireland  an  Irish  republic,  and  also  to  bring  about 
fraternal  feelings  among  Irishmen  in  this  country, 
and  assist  in  the  elevation  of  our  race. " 

"  Did  you  know  Dr.  P.  H.  Cronin?  " 

"  I  knew  him  very  well,  intimately.  He  was 
associated  with  me  on  the  executive  of  the  order 
when  a  division  existed.  I  used  to  communicate 
with  him  regularly,  perhaps  every  week  or  two.  I 
knew  him  to  be  intensely  patriotic,  and  very  useful 
in  the  Irish  movement." 


ALEXANDER    SULLIVAN 
BELIEVES  ALEXANDER   SULLIVAN  RESPONSIBLE. 

"  Have  you  ever  had  any  conversation  with  Dr. 
Cronin  touching  his  being  in  any  danger?" 

"  Yes,  sir;  we  have  spoken  of  it.  He  has  told 
me  that  the  personal  ambition  of  Alexander  Sulli- 
van to  rule  both  in  Irish  and  American  politics  in 
this  city  would  be  the  cause  of  his  death,  for  he 
felt  that  the  man  had  no  more  blood  than  a  fish, 
and  would  not  hesitate  to  take  his  life.  I  thought 
at  the  time  that  he  had  Alexander  Sullivan  on  the 
brain,  and  that  there  was  not  the  slightest  likelihood 
of  any  man  hurting  him." 

"  Has  anything  happened  since  that  time,  Mr. 
Dillon,  to  change  your  mind  in  regard  to  this  mat- 
ter? " 

"  Yes,  sir.  At  the  trial  of  Sullivan,  Boland 
and  Feeley,  at  which  I  was  present,  and  of  which 
Dr.  Cronin  was  one  of  the  jurors,  Alexander  Sulli- 
van protested  against  Cronin  sitting  in  judgment 
upon  him,  because  of  the  intense  enmity  existing 
between  the  two  men,  himself  and  Cronin,  and  his 
language  to  Cronin  at  the  time  was  very  abusive, 
and  I  felt  the  man  who  would  speak  so  disparag- 
ingly of  another  was  capable  of  going  to  greater 
extremes.  Another  reason  why  I  have  changed 
my  mind,  and  why  I  believe  that  Alexander  Sulli- 
van is  responsible  for  this  murder,  if  not  the  prin- 
cipal, is  that  Dr.  Cronin's  verdict  against  himself 
and  others  was"  guilty."  The  trial  to  which  I  am 
referring  took  place  partly  in  Buffalo  and  partly  in 
New  York,  and  I  had  ample  time  to  study  the  feel- 


228      THE  GREAT  CRONIN  MYSTERY 

ings  exhibited  there,  and  I  unhesitatingly  say  that 
Sullivan  showed  great  prejudice  against  him,  and 
since  then  I  received,  as  a  member  of  the  execu- 
tive, a  request  that  Alexander  Sullivan  be  permit- 
ted to  send  out  a  protest  along  with  the  trial 
report,  and  which  would  be  sent  to  the  different 
clubs.  As  a  member  of  that  executive  body  I 
objected  to  the  sending  out  of  a  circular  by  a  man 
who  was  not  a  member  of  the  order,  as  he  had 
resigned  some  four  years  previous,  but  I  was  evi- 
dently overruled,  for  such  a  document  has  been 
sent  out,  and,  with  the  permission  of  the  coroner 
and  of  the  jury  here,  I  will  read  it." 

"  When  was  that  trial  in  Buffalo  held?  " 

"  About  a  year  ago. " 

"  Who  were  tried?  " 

"  Alexander  Sullivan,  Dennis  C.  Feeley,  of 
Rochester,  and  Colonel  Michael  Boland,  now  of 
Kansas  City.  There  were  two  sets  of  charges,  one 
by  John  Devoy ,  charging  them  with  spending  $128,- 
ooo  without  permission  of  the  home  organization, 
notwithstanding  the  agreement  with  that  organiza- 
tion not  to  spend  any  money  without  their  sanction. 
My  charges  were  that  they  had  spent  $87,000,  and 
had  failed  to  account  for  it  during  the  years,  I 
think,  from  1885  to  1887." 

"  Did  the  trial  proceed  ?  " 

"  Yes,  sir;  notwithstanding  the  objections  of  Mr. 
Sullivan.  Dr.  Cronin  acted  as  a  member  of  that 
committee  in  the  capacity  of  a  juror.  " 

"  You  suggested  just  now,  Mr.  Dillon,  that  you 


ALEXANDER    SULLIVAN  2 29 

would  read  to  this  jury  a  document.     Is  that  the 
report  of  this  trial  committee?  " 

"  It  is  Alexander  Sullivan's  protest  against  Dr. 
Cronin  which  was  issued  to  the  order,  and  is  now 
sent  throughout  all  the  camps  in  the  country,  stating 
that  this  man,  Dr.  Cronin,  was  likely  a  British  spy, 
and  other  matters." 

"  Was  that  protest  attached  to  the  report  of  that 
trial?  " 

"  It  was.  This  report,  against  the  issuing  of 
which  I  protested,  on  the  ground  that  Alexander 
Sullivan  was  not  a  member  of  the  order,  has  only 
been  sent  to  the  clubs  during  the  past  week. " 

"  Since  the  death  of  Dr.  Cronin?  " 
Yes,  sir." 

"  Is  that  protest  made  a  part  of  the  report  of  the 
trial?" 

"  Yes,  sir;  it  is  made  part  of  the  report." 

The  protest  was  then  read  by  Mr.  Dillon,  as 
follows : 

PROTEST  OF  ALEXANDER  SULLIVAN. 

NEW  YORK,  September  15,  1888. 
P.    O.  Boyle,  Secretary. 

DEAR  SIR — At  the  opening  of  this  investigation  in  Buffalo,  I 
protested  against  the  presence  of  P.  H.  Cronin,  as  member  of  the 
committee  to  investigate  any  charges  against  me.  The  committee 
decided  that  it  had  no  power  to  act  in  the  matter,  but  through  its 
chairman  said  that  I  could  file  my  protest  in  writing.  Therefore  I 
formally  and  in  writing  renew  said  protest.  My  grounds  are: 

First,  he  is  a  personal  enemy;  second,  he  has  expressed  opinions  in 
this  case;  third,  he  is  a  perjurer  and  scoundrel,  unfit  to  be  placed  on 
any  jury. 

To  the  first  objection  I  cite  the  men  of  the  United  Brotherhood 
organization  in  Chicago,  from  which  he  was  expelled  in  a  case  where 
I  conducted  the  prosecution.  There  is  no  question  in  Chicago  of  his 


230  THE    GREAT   CRONIN   MYSTERY 

personal  hostility.  Before  the  National  League  convention  in  1886. 
his  was  one  of  the  signatures  to  a  circular  assailing  me,  and  he  was  a 
regular  attendant  at  meetings  hostile  to  me.  This  is  so  notorious  to 
me  from  all  parts  of  the  country,  that  it  is  not  necessary  to  enlarge 
upon  it,  but,  if  substantiation  is  required,  it  can  be  furnished  to  an 
overwhelming  degree. 

In  support  of  the  second  objection,  it  is  only  necessary  to  recite 
the  now  notorious  fact  that  Cronin  was  a  member  of  the  executive 
body  of  the  United  Brotherhood,  and  as  such  he  was  one  of  those 
who  circulated  charges  against  my  former  associates  and  myself.  He, 
therefore,  not  only  expressed  opinions,  but  in  his  official  capacity 
caused  those  opinions  to  be  published  and  circulated. 

Your  committee  is  chosen  from  two  bodies  whose  members  differ 
on  many  points,  but  who  all  agree,  or  profess  to  agree,  in  denouncing 
unfair  trials,  biased  juries  and  prejudiced  jurors  in  Ireland,  and  yet  I 
am  asked,  after  a  period  of  four  years  has  elapsed  since  I  was  a 
member  of  the  organization,  to  come  for  trial  before  a  committee 
chosen  in  my  absence  at  a  place  where  I  was  given  no  opportunity  to 
be  heard,  although  I  was  within  a  few  hundred  feet  of  the  place. 

While  you  ask  the  world  to  believe  that  you  want  a  fair  trial  on 
one  side  of  the  Atlantic,  you  ask  me  to  accept  as  a  juror  one  who 
would  be  excluded  in  any  civil  court  from  a  jury  in  a  trial  of  a  case  in 
which  I  had  an  interest  however  trivial. 

I  am  told  that  it  has  been  declared,  that,  if  I  do  not  appear  before 
this  committee,  I  shall  be  denounced  as  one  unable  to  defend  himself 
against  the  accusations  filed.  So  I  was  left  with  the  alternative  of 
being  tried  before  a  jury,  with  at  least  one  perjured  member,  or  being 
abused  and  vilified  for  my  non-appearance.  And  this  is  what  the  men 
who  selected  Cronin  were  led  to  believe  was  fairness.  They  should 
never  again  be  so  indecently  inconsistent  as  to  criticise  the  position  of 
juries  or  courts  chosen  to  try  men  in  England  and  Ireland.  Had  he 
as  much  decency  as  an  ordinary  dog  he  would  not  sit  in  a  case  in  which 
I  was  interested. 

As  to  the  third  objection  to  Cronin,  I  charge  that  the  brand  of  per- 
jury is  so  burned  into  the  scoundrel's  brow  that  all  the  waters  of  the 
earth  would  not  remove  the  brand.  He  was  a  delegate  at  the  district 
convention  held  in  Chicago  May  23,  1884,  that  being  the  first  one 
held  in  this  district.  After  the  constitution  was  so  amended  as  to 
provide  for  the  elevation  of  two  delegates  from  each  district,  two 
delegates  were  elected  at  the  very  same  session,  one  being  chosen 
immediately  after  the  other.  Yet  Cronin,  after  first  officially  report- 
ing to  his  club  that  two  delegates  were  elected,  circulated  a  report 


ALEXANDER   SULLIVAN  23! 

that  only  one  was  elected,  and  stated  that  he  would  not  be  permitted 
to  speak  or  to  present  any  suggestions  from  his  camp.  Every  such 
delegate  at  the  convention  has  been  sworn,  and  every  one,  including 
those  who  were  with  Cronin  in  the  U.  B.  organization,  testified  that 
two  delegates  were  chosen,  that  Cronin  was  present  when  they  were 
chosen,  that  every  delegate  not  only  could  speak,  but  was  actually 
called  upon  to  speak,  and  that  every  delegate,  including  Cronin,  did 
speak. 

Cronin  was  expelled,  a  convicted  liar,  who  added  perjury  to  his 
slander.  I  have  further  investigated  his  record,  and  I  find  that  in 
several  matters  outside  of  the  organization  he  is  also  a  perjurer.  A 
record  obtained  from  Ireland  by  William  J.  Fitzgerald  says  that 
Cronin  was  born  at  Buttevante,  April  13,  1844.  Cronin  swears  that 
he  lived  at  St.  Catharines,  Canada,  until  after  the  assassination  of 
President  Lincoln,  April  14,  1865.  Captain  McDonald  of  No.  2 
Company,  Nineteenth  Battalion  of  the  Canadian  militia,  of  which 
P.  H.  Cronin  was  a  member,  says  that  at  its  formation  in  1862  or 
1863  he  had  P.  H.  Cronin  in  his  company,  or  shortly  after  its  forma- 
tion. He  was  known  as  the  "  Singer  Cronin,"  and  at  the  time  of 
joining  he  took  the  oath  of  allegiance  as  follows:  "  I  swear  that  I  will 
bear  true  and  faithful  allegiance  to  her  majesty,  the  queen,  her  heirs 
and  successors." 

About  1863  positive  orders  were  sent  by  the  government  that  every 
man  had  to  take  the  oath  of  allegiance,  and  that  there  were  none  under 
his  command  who  did  not  take  it.  The  record  shows  that  Dr.  Cro- 
nin's  father,  J.  G.  Cronin,  was  a  British  subject  and  continued  in 
Canada  up  to  the  time  of  his  death,  so  that  P.  H.  Cronin,  until  1865 
or  1 866,  when  he  left  Canada,  was  a  British  subject,  and  if,  as  he 
claims,  his  father  was  naturalized  in  the  United  States  before  going  to 
Canada,  he  voluntarily  abandoned  his  American  citizenship  and  re- 
sumed the  position  of  a  British  subject. 

This  P.  H.  Cronin  voluntarily  swore  allegiance  to  her  British  ma- 
jesty. Yet  this  creature  swore  in  his  name  as  a  voter  in  St.  Louis  and 
voted  in  that  city.  He  thought  best  not  to  come  to  Chicago  and 
reside  one  year,  but  sneaked  down  to  a  county  in  Illinois,  doubtless 
being  afraid  of  attracting  attention  in  Chicago,  and  swore  that  he 
arrived  in  the  United  States  a  minor  under  the  age  of  twenty-one  years; 
that  he  resided  in  the  United  States  three  years  preceding  his  arrival 
at  the  age  of  twenty-one  years.  He  claimed  to  have  been  home  in 
1856,  and  not  in  1844,  and,  even  if  that  were  true,  he  was  only  nine- 
teen years  old  when  he  left  Canada,  because  he  swore  he  was  in  Can- 
ada when  President  Lincoln  was  assassinated ;  that  he  came  to  the 


232  THE   GREAT  CRONIN   MYSTERY 

United  States  in  1865  or  1866,  and  yet  he  swore  he  resided  in  the 
United  States  three  years  previous  to  arriving  at  the  age  of  nineteen, 
and  thus  secured  his  papers  on  this  minor  petition  falsely  sworn  to. 

This  side  of  Cronin's  character,  I  submit,  should  be  consid- 
ered in  connection  with  any  report  his  malice  and  prejudice  may 
dictate.  I  have  not  made  any  formal  protest  against  the  presence  of 
Dr.  McCahey  on  the  trial  committee,  but  it  is  well  known  that  he  has 
been  active  in  publishing  documents  and  interviews  hostile  to  me,  and 
it  is  at  least  strange  that  one  who  has  been  so  engaged  should  be  will- 
ing to  serve  on  such  a  committee* 

Very  respectfully, 

ALEXANDER  SULLIVAN. 

THE  PROTEST  SENT  OUT  FOR  A  PURPOSE, 

The  witness  continued:  "  That  has  only  been 
issued  within  two  weeks,  and  might  have  been  in 
the  press  longer." 

"  Was  that  protest,  Mr.  Dillon,  in  the  hands  of 
your  order,  or  some  officer  of  your  order,  before 
Cronin's  murder?  " 

"  Yes,  sir,  for  about  four  months,  I  should 
judge.  " 

"  The  protest  is  dated  when?  " 

"Sept.   15,  1888." 

"  How  do  you  know  that  this  protest  is  the  pro- 
test of  Alexander  Sullivan?" 

"  Because  I  have  received  official  notification  from 
the  secretary  that  Alexander  Sullivan  desires  to 
send  such  a  protest  out.  I  objected  to  its  being 
sent  out,  because  he  is  not  a  member  of  the  organ- 
ization, and  I  knew  that  the  protest  would  attack 
the  character  of  a  decent  man." 

"  What  right  had  you  to  object  to  its  being  sent 
out?" 


ALEXANDER  SULLIVAN  233 

"  I  had  every  right  as  a  member  of  the  execu- 
tive." 

"  Are  you  at  present  a  member  of  the  execu- 
tive? " 

"  I  am." 

"  How  many  members  are  there?" 

"Nine." 

Here  the  witness  bent  over  to  the  coroner,  and, 
in  a  very  suggestive  tone,  whispered:  "  Don't  ask 
me  their  names." 

"  How  many  members  were  there  at  the  time  of 
this  trial?" 

"  The  same  number." 

"  How  many  in  1882?" 

"Five,  I  believe,  in  1882." 

"  Was  there  any  time  when  there  were  only  three 
members  of  the  executive?" 

"  At  the  Boston  convention  it  was  reduced  to 
three.  It  was  either  at  Boston  or  Chicago  in  1881 
or  1883." 

"  Can  you  give  the  names  of  those  three  mem- 
bers of  the  executive?  " 

"  Alexander  Sullivan,  Dennis  C.  Feeley  and  Col- 
onel Michael  Boland." 

"  What  have  you  done  about  the  remarks  made 
in  that  protest  by  Alexander  Sullivan  about  Dr. 
Cronin?  " 

"  Well,  I  didn't  believe  them.  I  knew  Dr.  Cronin 
to  be  a  thorough  gentleman,  thoroughly  patriotic, 
and,  when  the  opportunity  shall  arise,  I  will  prove 
that  his  membership  in  that  British  militia  company 
was  because  of  his  love  for  Ireland.  It  .was  to  learn 


234  THE    GREAT   CRONIN   MYSTERY 

his  duty  as  a  soldier,  and  not  to  swear  his  alle- 
giance to  her  majesty.  Tom  Tuite,  of  Detroit,  city 
treasurer  of  that  city,  was  another  member  of  that 
same  company,  and  him  I  know  to  be  a  patriotic, 
good  man.  Cronin  himself  has  told  me  about  join- 
ing that  militia  company,  and  his  purpose  in  doing 
so.  His  purpose  was  to  learn  his  duties  as  a  soldier, 
so  that  in  case  he  should  be  called  upon  he  might 
fight  for  his  country." 

"  Can  you  give  the  jury  any  other  reason  why 
Alexander  Sullivan  should  be  an  enemy  of  Dr. 
Cronin  ?  " 

"  I  can  give  none  except  personal  revenge." 

"  Revenge  for  what  ?  " 

"  Because  this  man  found  him  guilty  of  crime, 
of  theft." 

"  By  this  man  you  mean  Dr.  Cronin  ?  " 

"  Yes,  sir  ;  and  also  because  of  treacherous  con- 
duct to  members  of  the  organization." 

"  Do  you  believe,  Mr.  Dillon,  that  Dr.  Cronin's 
opinion  of  Mr.  Sullivan  was  correct  ?  " 

"  I  do  now.  I  used  to  thinkhe  exaggerated  Sul- 
livan's importance.  I  looked  upon  him  then  as 
only  an  ordinary  villain.  But  Cronin  looked 
upon  him  as  a  very  dangerous  man,  and  a  very  able 
man." 

MEN  WERE  BETRAYED  TO  ENGLAND. 

"  At  the  time  of  the  existence  of  this  so-called 
triangle,  Sullivan,  Boland  and  Feeley,  do  you  know 
of  their  betraying  any  members  of  the  order?  " 

After  a  long  pause  the  witness  replied:  "No;  I 
believe  men  have  been  betrayed." 


ALEXANDER   SULLIVAN  235 

"  Could  these  men  whom  you  believe  to  have 
been  betrayed,  have  been  betrayed  without  the 
knowledge  of  the  executive?" 

"  No,  they  could  not  otherwise  be  betrayed." 

"  And  men  were  betrayed?  " 

"I  believe  so." 

"  They  were  not  known  to  anybody  outside  of 
the  triangle?" 

"  They  were  not  supposed  to  be  known. " 

"  If  known,  where  would  those  outside  receive 
their  information  from?  " 

"  The  executive;  the  triangle  and  executive  were 
the  same  thing." 

"  At  that  time  who  were  the  executive?  " 

"  Alexander  Sullivan,  Dennis  C.  Feeley  and 
Michael  Boland." 

"  Have  you  ever  heard  from  any  of  the  members 
that  Dr.  Cronin,  in  conversation,  has  charged  that 
Alexander  Sullivan  had  anything  to  do  with  betray- 
ing the  members?" 

"  No;  I  don't  think  the  doctor  has  ever  charged 
that  against  Sullivan.  He  has  told  me  that  he 
believed  men  had  been  betrayed  through  the  inti- 
macy of  Alexander  Sullivan  with  Le  Caron." 

"  Was  Le  Caron  a  member  of  a  camp  in  Illi- 
nois? " 

"Yes,  sir;  in  Braidwood,  Illinois." 

"  Who  is  Le  Caron?  " 

"  Well,"  the  witness  said,  smiling,  "  I  wish  they 
had  tackled  him  instead  of  Dr.  Cronin.  "I  didn't 
know  him  personally." 

"  What  position  did  he  hold?  " 


236       THE  GREAT  CRONIN  MYSTERY 

"He  held  the  position  of  chief  officer  —  what 
would  be  the  same  as  president  in  an  ordinary 
society." 

"  Was  he  once  considered  a  good  member  of  the 
order?  " 

"Yes,  sir." 

"  Is  he  considered  such  now?  " 

"  Not  at  all;  certainly  not." 

"  When  you  connect  Alexander  Sullivan's  name 
with  that  of  Le  Caron,  please  tell  the  jury  why  you 
do  that.  Tell  all  you  know  or  honestly  believe  in 
that  connection." 

"  He  didn't  say  that  Alexander  Sullivan  had 
betrayed  anybody,  but  that  the  betrayal  had  been 
the  result  of  the  close  intimacy  existing  between 
Alexander  Sullivan  and  Le  Caron." 

"  There  was  once  a  trial  in  Camp  96,  in  the  dis- 
trict of  Illinois  and  Michigan,  in  which  Dr.  Cronin 
was  accused  of  treason.  Do  you  know  anything 
about  that  trial?  " 

"  Yes,  sir.  At  the  time  that  my  charges  were 
being  considered,  that  question  was  brought  up,  and 
we  attempted  to  prove  against  Alexander  Sullivan, 
Boland  and  Feeley,  and  it  was  charged,  that  the 
Boston  convention  had  been  packed  with  proxies, 
and  there  was  really  only  one  delegate  elected  from 
Chicago,  and  the  man  said  to  have  been  elected 
was  not  even  at  the  convention  ;  that  he  was  not 
selected  or  elected  by  his  club,  and  that  he  was  not 
even  in  this  country  at  the  time.  The  man  was 
Captain  Lomasney,  and  that  is  the  cause,  as  I 
understand  it,  why  Cronin  was  expelled." 


ALEXANDER   SULLIVAN  237 

"  Was  it  stated  who  preferred  the  charges  against 
Dr.  Cronin?" 

"  No;  we  regarded  all  the  charges  as  coming  from 
Alexander  Sullivan.  He  says,  in  this  protest,  that 
he  prosecuted  the  charges.  " 

DILLON'S  BELIEF  AS  TO  CRONIN'S  DEATH. 

"  Have  you  any  other  information,  Mr.  Dillon, 
which  would  be  proper  for  you  to  give  this  jury, 
sitting  to  inquire  into  the  death  of  Dr.  Cronin, 
which  would  assist  them  in  arriving  at  the  cause  of 
his  death?" 

"  Well,  I  believe  his  death  is  the  result  of  the 
abuse  heaped  upon  him  by  the  friends  of  Alexan- 
der Sullivan.  He  has  been  denominated  a  spy  and 
a  traitor,  perjurer,  and  in  fact  all  the  invectives  have 
been  piled  upon  him  that  could  be  heaped  upon  the 
head  of  any  man  by  the  friends  of  Sullivan,  all 
because  of  Cronin's  enmity  to  Sullivan." 

"  Why  did  Cronin  have  any  enmity  toward  Sul- 
livan?" ( 

"  Because  he  believed,  as  I  do,  that  he  was  a  pro- 
fessional patriot,  sucking  the  life-blood  out  of  the 
Irish  organizations,  and  we  tried  to  purify  the  or- 
ganization by  removing  from  its  head  such  men  as 
Alexander  Sullivan. " 

"  Do  you  know  the  reason  why  Alexander  Sulli- 
van left  the  order?  " 

"  I  can  tell  you  the  general  opinion  in  the  order 
on  that  question.  We  believe  that  he  left  the  order 
because  he  thought  that  his  crimes  would  find  him 
out,  and  that  Cronin,  John  Devoy,  I,  and  others 


238  THE    GREAT    CRONIN   MYSTERY 

who  were  endeavoring  to  purify  the  organization 
would  finally  bring  them  to  judgment  before  the 
rank  and  file.  I  believe  that,  when  he  resigned,  he 
did  not  cease  to  rule.  I  have  seen  his  handwriting 
on  circulars  issued  to  the  United  Brotherhood  a 
year  after  his  resignation  was  supposed  to  have 
taken  place. " 

"  Does  the  issuance  of  this  protest,  in  your  opin- 
ion, show  that  he  has  his  hand  in  it  yet?  " 

"  I  believe  he  is  able  to  influence  the  men,  al- 
though he  is  not  now  in  the  order." 

"  Could  he  have  got  his  protest  attached  to  that 
report  of  the  trial  committee  unless  a  majority  of 
the  executive  were  favorable  to  him?  " 

"  I  believe  a  majority  of  the  executive  were  favor- 
able to  him,  and  I  know  he  did  have  at  least  two 
personal  friends  on  it,  and  he  might  exercise  con- 
siderable influence  through  them." 

"  Dr.  Cronin  was  killed  on  the  night  between  May 
4th  and  May  5th.  Could  an  order  have  been  issued 
from  the  executive  body  in  your  order  to  remove  a 
member?  " 

"No,  sir;  it  is  utterly  impossible.  They  can 
violate  no  laws  of  this  country;  they  have  no  power 
to  do  it." 

"  Could  a  majority  of  the  committee  do  it?" 
'"No,  sir." 

"  Could  they  have  done  it  without  your  knowl- 
edge?" 

"  Without  my  knowledge  they  could  not  have 
done  it,  I  believe." 


ALEXANDER    SULLIVAN  239 

"  Could  a  subordinate  camp  issue  an  order  to 
that  effect?' 

"  No,  sir;  positively  no." 

"  Would  such  a  thing  be  in  violation  of  your 
rules?  " 

"  It  would  be  in  violation  of  our  oath.  We  have 
no  precedent  that  the  laws  of  this  country,  as  we 
understand  them,  have  ever  been  violated  in  any 
manner  by  this  organization." 

THE   MISAPPROPRIATION   OF   FUNDS. 

"  Please  tell  the  jury,  Mr.  Dillon,  a  little  more 
about  the  misappropriation  of  funds,  which  you  and 
Dr.  Cronin  have  talked  about.  About  how  much 
money,  on  or  about  June  I,  1882,  got  into  the 
hands  of  those  three  men?" 

"  John  Devoy  charged  that  they  had  received 
over  $300,000,  and  of  this  that  $128,000  had  been 
spent  in  violation  of  the  constitution,  and  the 
vouchers  and  papers  in  connection  with  that  were 
burned  at  the  convention." 

"  How  could  this  money  have  been  spent?" 

"  It  was  supposed  to  have  been  used  in  violent 
measures  against  England  or  in  carrying  on  what 
was  termed  the  active  policy." 

"  Did  they  show  vouchers  for  this  expenditure?" 

"  No,  sir;  previous  to  this  resignation  of  Alex- 
ander Sullivan  all  documents  bearing  on  that 
question  were  ordered  to  be  burned." 

"  By  what  convention?  " 

"  By  the  Boston  convention." 

"  Who  ran  that  convention?  " 


240  THE   GREAT   CRONIN    MYSTERY 

Well,  I  presume  that  Alexander  Sullivan  and 
his  friends  did,  from  the  fact  that  they  ordered 
those  papers  and  vouchers  to  be  burned.  I  pre- 
sume they  ran  it,  or  they  would  not  have  let  those 
papers  be  destroyed." 

"  Were  you  a  member  of  the  Boston  convention?  " 

"No,  sir." 

"  Were  you  present  at  the  convention?  " 

"  No,  sir;  but  at  the  trial  where  the  charges  of 
John  Devoy  and  myself  were  made  there  was 
testimony  taken  there  to  show  that  the  papers 
were  all  burned,  and  also  testimony  to  show  who 
was  the  executive,  and  the  amount  of  money  that 
had  been  spent  and  unaccounted  for." 

"  Did  that  amount,  exceeding  $300,000,  to  which 
you  refer,  include  $100,000  said  to  have  been  had 
from  Patrick  Egan?" 

"  No,  sir;  it  did  not." 

"  Can  you  tell  the  jury  what  you  know  about 
that  amount  going  into  the  hands  of  the  triangle 
on  or  about  June  I,  1882?" 

"  I  can't.  I  don't  know  anything  about  it.  I 
know  they  had  more  than  a  hundred  thousand  in 
their  hands  at  that  date,  or  should  have  had  it,  of 
the  organization's  funds  alone." 

"  Do  you  know  whether  any  funds  of  this  organ- 
ization were  used  or  were  to  have  been  used  for  the 
purpose  of  assisting  poor  women  or  poor  families 
in  this  country  ?  " 

"  No,  sir;  the  funds  of  this  organization  were  sup- 
posed to  be  used  in  case  of  England  becoming  in- 


ALEXANDER    SULLIVAN  241 

volved  in  difficulty  in  aiding  Ireland  to  liberate  her- 
self. " 

"  Was  it  supposed  that  any  part  of  these  funds 
should  be  used  to  assist  widows  and  orphans  of 
those  who  had  worked  for  this  organization  ?" 

"  There  is  nothing  in  the  constitution  of  this 
organization  that  requires  men  to  give  up  their 
lives  in  the  cause,  and  there  is  nothing  in  the  con- 
stitution'directing  the  efforts  of  the  executive  in 
matters  of  that  kind.  We  believe  that  common 
decency  and  common  Christianity  would  compel 
an  executive  to  do  that.  I  suppose  that  is  one  of 
the  reasons  it  has  never  been  answered,  whether 
this  triangle  ever  helped  any  one.  " 

"  Do  you  know  whether  this  triangle  ever  suffi- 
ciently helped  any  one  in  this  way?  " 

"  I  know  they  didn't.  There  was  one  case  par- 
ticularly. There  was  one  woman  whom  I  knew  to 
be  in  want,  and  I  found  it  necessary  to  collect  over 
a  thousand  dollars  to  keep  her  and  her  family  from 
starvation,  owing  to  the  neglect  of  that  triangle." 

"  Did  you  ask  the  triangle  to  help  her?  " 

"  No,  but  others  did." 

"  Would  you  like  to  give  the  name  of  that 
woman  to  this  jury?  " 

"  I  would  rather  not.  I  rather  think  the  woman 
would  not  care  to  have  her  name  published  through 
the  country." 


Cronln  Mystery  ib 


242  THE   GREAT   CKONIN    MYSTERY 

FIFTEEN    THOUSAND     DETECTIVES     LOOKING     FOR 
MURDERERS. 

"  Mr.  Dillon,"  asked  Foreman  Critchell,  ''  have 
you  made  any  personal  inquiries  or  examination 
into  the  circumstances  of  Dr.  Cronin's  death? 
Have  you  visited  any  of  these  places?" 

"No,  sir." 

"  Have  you  made  inquiries  among  the  people  who 
saw  him  last?  " 

"  Yes,  sir;  I  have  spoken  to  all  his  friends  here,v 
and  in  addition  to  that  I  have  made  use  of  all  the 
available  detective  force  of  this  country  to  track 
up  the  murderers,  and  fully  15,000  members  of 
this  organization  are  practical  detectives  looking 
after  the  men?" 

"  Do  you  think  his  death  was  the  result  of  a  con- 
spiracy? " 

"  Yes,  sir;  I  do.  I  think  so;  I  think  there  were 
at  least  half  a  dozen  of  them.  " 

"  How  long  did  you  know  Dr.  Cronin?  " 

"  We  were  on  the  executive  together  about 
eighteen  months,  and  that  was  the  only  time  T 
knew  him  intimately.  I  probably  knew  him  by 
reputation  much  longer,  but  two  and  a  half  years 
would  be  about  the  length  of  time  I  knew  him 
intimately." 

"  Did  you  ever  hear  anything  against  his  char- 
acter?" 

"  I  have  from  personal  enemies  of  his,  because 
of  their  friendship  for  Alexander  Sullivan,  and  they 
have  used  abusive  language  toward  him." 


ALEXANDER    SULLIVAN  243 

"  Do  you  know  of  his  having  been  involved  with 
anybody  in  any  difficulty  of  any  kind  whereby  that 
person  would  have  sufficient  grudge  against  him  to 
kill  him?" 

"No,  sir." 

"  Do  you  know  of  any,  or  did  you  ever  hear  of 
any  one  saying  that  Dr.  Cronin  had  any  enemies 
outside  of  Alexander  Sullivan?  " 

"None  at  all." 

"  Did  you  regard  Dr.  Cronin  as  a  peaceable  and 
inoffensive  man?" 

"  Very  much  so." 

"  Was  he  a  quarrelsome  man?  " 

"  No;  he  was  as  mild  and  mannerly  as  any 
lady." 

"  Did  you  ever  hear  of  anything  in  connection 
with  his  practice  as  a  physician  which  would  get 
him  into  difficulty?  " 

"  No,  sir.  He  was  a  thoroughly  honorable  man, 
and  he  would  not  do  anything  in  his  practice  which 
would  reflect  discredit  upon  him." 

"  Do  you  think  the  feelings  of  partisanship  which 
were  aroused  by  the  quarrels  in  the  organization 
would  have  risen  high  enough  to  lead  to  the  death 
of  any  of  the  members?  " 

"  No;  Irishmen,  generally  speaking,  are  violent 
perhaps  during  discussion,  but,  after  they  come  out, 
they  generally  settle  all  their  differences  with  a 
drink.  In  controversy  or  debate  they  are  naturally 
hot-headed,  so  violent  that  they  sometimes  make 
threats,  but  they  forget  them  in  five  minutes." 


244  THE   GREAT    CRONIN    MYSTERY 

"  Did  you  ever  hear  Dr.  Cronin  say  that  his  death 
would  be  the  result  of  a  conspiracy?  " 

"  That  is  what  he  expected.  He  believed  there 
was  a  conspiracy  at  work  to  kill  him,  and  he 
believed  that  Alexander  Sullivan  was  the  chief  con- 
spirator. He  told  me  that  several  times." 

"  Did  we  understand  you  to  say  that  Alexander 
Sullivan  had  said  that  he  was  the  cause  of  the  trial 
at  which  Dr.  Cronin  was  expelled?" 

"  Yes,  sir;  he  says  so  himself  in  his  protest 
(reading):  '  The  first  objection  I  cite  to  the  men 
of  the  United  Brotherhood  in  Chicago  from  which 
he  was  expelled,  in  the  case  where  I  conducted  the 
prosecution." 

"  Did  you  ever  know  Dan  Coughlin?" 

"No,  sir." 

"  Did  you  ever  know  P.  O'Sullivan?" 

"No,  sir." 

"  Did  you  ever  hear  the  doctor  allude  to  these 
men?" 

"  Yes,  I  have  in  the  case  of  Coughlin.  I  believe 
he  spoke  disparagingly  of  him;  didn't  like  the  man, 
the  way  I  understood  it." 

"  Did  he  connect  him  in  any  way  with  Alexander 
Sullivan?" 

"  He  thought  he  was  an  old  friend  of  Alexan- 
der Sullivan,  and,  for  that  reason,  no  friend  of  his." 

"  Did  you  know  the  man  Beggs,  who  testified 
here?  " 

"  No,  sir,  not  personally;  I  never  met  him." 

"  Did  you  ever  hear  Doctor  Cronin  speak  of 
him  ?  " 


ALEXANDER   SULLIVAN  245 

"  Yes,  sir;  in  general  conversation.  I  believe 
we  were  speaking  of  the  character  of  the  men 
who  were  opposing  him  in  this  city,  and  he 
referred  to  them  as  local  politicians,  who  had  no 
standing,  and  whose  words  would  have  no  weight; 
but  he  believed  they  were  inspired  to  do  him  an 
injury  through  their  obligations  to  Alexander  Sul- 
livan." 

"  Did  he  say  what  obligation  Dan  Coughlin  was 
under  to  Alexander  Sullivan?  " 

"  He  said,  I  believe,  that  he  owed  his  appoint- 
ment on  the  police  force;  that  is  the  way  he  spoke 
to  me  of  it." 

"  Did  you  ever  hear  him  speak  of  Brown?  " 

"  No,  sir;  never." 

"  Did  you  ever  hear  him  say  whether  Brown 
originated  these  charges,  or  some  one  for  him?  " 

"  He  always  spoke  of  the  charges  as  coming  from 
Alexander  Sullivan.  I  never  heard  him  speak  of 
Brown  in  particular." 

"  The  doctor  considered  Brown  a  mere  stool 
pigeon  in  the  matter?  " 

"  That  is  all.  " 

"  I  want  to  ask,"  said  the  coroner,  "  if  you  know 
what  amount  has  been  charged  by  the  executive  as 
being  paid  to  Dr.  Gallagher,  who  is  now  under  a 
life  sentence  in  England?  " 

"  The  executive  never  charged  for  any  expenses 
incurred  by  Dr.  Gallagher,  nor  was  he  sent  by  the 
executive  to  do  any  active  work  for  the  order." 

"  Do  you  know  whether  the  executive  has  ever 
stated  that  they  paid  Dr.  Gallagher  anything?  " 


246  THE   GREAT   CRONIN    MYSTERY 

"  They  never  stated  so  officially.  They  did  in- 
inspirethe  belief  among  the  members  of  the  organ- 
ization that  they  had  done  so,  but  I  state  positively 
that  they  never  gave  Dr.  Gallagher  one  cent. " 

"Mr.  Dillon,"  asked  Foreman  Critchell,  "  if  a 
member  of  the  Cian-na-Gael  was  expelled,  would 
it  be  considered  a  disgrace  to  him?  " 

"  Yes,  sir;  it  would  be  considerable  disgrace  to 
him." 

"  If  a  man  was  charged  with  being  a  British  spy, 
would  that  be  calculated  to  cause  a  very  bitter  feel- 
ing against  him  ?  " 

"  So  bitter  that  it  might  result  in  his  death." 

"  Did  you  ever  hear  any  one  accuse  Dr.  Cronin 
of  being  a  British  spy  ?  " 

"Never." 

"  Do  you  know  whether  such  an  accusation  was 
ever  made  against  him  ?  " 

"  Yes,  sir  ;  I  have  heard  it  stated  here  in  Chicago; 
it  is  generally  circulated." 

"  Before  his  death  ?  " 

"  I  can't  say  ;  I  wasn't  here  then. " 

SULLIVAN'S  PROTEST  A  RUSE. 

"  How  many  people  knew  of  the  existence  of 
this  protest  of  Alexander  Sullivan  on  the  ist  of 
May  ?  Was  it  read  to  a  large  number  of  people  ?  " 

"  There  were  eight  of  the  executives  that  heard  it 
read." 

"  Did  it  go  beyond  them  ?  " 

"  Yes,  sir  ;  the  printer  saw  it,  and  it  was  gener- 


ALEXANDER    SULLIVAN  247 

ally  understood  that  when  the  printer  gets  it  the 
printer's  friends  see  it  also.  "  [Laughter.] 

"  What  was  Dr.  Cronin's  general  reputation  in 
the  order  ?  " 

"  Very  good.  He  bore  an  excellent  reputation 
outside  of  this  city,  and  in  this  city  he  had  very 
many  warm  friends,  but  it  seemed  to  be  about 
equally  divided  here  between  personal  hostility  and 
friendship  toward  him. " 

"  Did  Dr.  Cronin  have  anything  against  Sullivan- 
that  you  know  of  besides  what  you  have  stated?" 

"  Well,  I  believe,  judging  from  what  I  heard  Dr. 
Cronin  say,  that  he  thought  him  capable  of  any- 
thing." 

"  Will  you  please  explain  why  this  protest,  being 
dated  in  September,  1888,  was  only  circulated  in 
May  or  June,  1889?" 

"  Well,  I  believe  that  circular  is  dated  September, 
but  I  don't  believe  it  was  written  for  six  months 
after  that." 

"  It  never  came  before  the  executive  body  until 
about  the  day  Cronin  disappeared?  " 

"Yes,  sir." 

"  Did  the  executive  body  have  a  meeting  about 
that  date?" 

"  I  know  that  the  night  following  his  disappear- 
ance, I  received  a  dispatch  from  this  city,  stating 
that  Cronin  had  been  called  out  to  see  a  patient, 
and  had  not  returned.  I  felt  sure  the  man  was 
murdered  that  moment,  and  tried  to  induce  the 
executive  to  appropriate  $3,000  to  hunt  up  the 
murderers,  but  they  said  they  didn't  believe  he  was 


248  THE    GREAT    CRONIN    MYSTERY 

dead  on  that  account.  That  was  the  argument 
made  against  appropriating  the  money." 

"  Can't  you  remember  the  exact  date  of  that 
meeting?" 

"  No,  sir — yes,  sir,  I  can.  It  was  the  5th  of 
May.  Yes,  sir,  that  is  when  it  was.  There  is  one 
thing  I  would  like  to  say  to  the  jury,  as  it  is  an 
animus  we  are  looking  for." 

"  We  are  not  looking  for  anything  but  facts," 
suggested  Foreman  Critchell. 

CRONIN'S    STRONG  IMPEACHMENT  OF  SULLIVAN. 

"  I  will  give  you  facts  that  may  show  animus. 
Dr.  Cronin  saw  that  the  friends  of  Alexander  Sul- 
livan in  Chicago  were  in  the  habit  of  saying  that 
the  verdict  on  the  trial  at  which  Dr.  Cronin  was 
one  of  the  jurors  was  in  favor  of  Alexander  Sulli- 
van. The  verdict  was  supposed  to  be  kept  secret, 
but  it  somehow  leaked  out  through  the  organiza- 
tion unofficially  what  the  verdict  really  was,  and 
the  two  doctors  were  pointed  out  as  the  only  two 
men  who  found  Sullivan  guilty  of  any  crime,  and 
that  Alexander  Sullivan  was  not  guilty.  Dr. 
Cronin,  in  order  to  prove  that  he  was  in  possession 
of  information  which,  if  they  heard,  or  he  was  per- 
mitted to  read,  would  prove  the  guilt  of  Alex- 
ander Sullivan,  stated  that  he  had  in  his  possession 
at  least  three  hundred  pages  of  testimony  which 
would  be  produced  at  the  coming  convention  to 
prove  that  these  men  were  all  the  charges  had  spe- 
cified they  were.  The  executive  ordered  him  to 


ALEXANDER   SULLIVAN  249 

send  that  300  pages  of  testimony  to  the  chairman 
of  that  body,  but  he  refused  to  hand  them  over." 

"  When  was  the  convention  to  be?" 

"  The  date  of  the  convention  was  not  decided  on; 
it  was  to  be  at  some  future  time.  Dr.  Cronin  said 
that  it  would  be  necessary  for  him  to  hold  these 
documents,  so  that  in  the  coming  convention  he 
could  have  something  to  justify  the  verdict  he  had 
given  of  guilty." 

"  What  was  the  verdict?  " 

"  There  were  four  verdicts.  There  were  no 
majority  or  minority  reports.  The  vote  of  the  jury 
was  3  to  3,  a  tie,  as  to  the  guilt  or  innocence  of 
Sullivan  and  the  others.  They  heard  all  the  evi- 
dence, that  is  this  evidence  that  Dr.  Cronin  was 
going  to  publish  at  the  coming  convention." 

"  Did  he  read  that  testimony  at  the  trial?  " 

"  I  will  explain  that  matter  to  the  jury.  They  sat 
as  you  sit  now,  listening  to  evidence.  They  had 
no  regular  stenographer,  this  committee  of  six,  con- 
sequently each  man  took  his  own  notes  of  the  evi- 
dence, at  least  three  of  them  did  (the  secretary,  Dr. 
Cronin  and  Dr.  McCahey);  they  took  notes  as  they 
went  along.  Dr.  Cronin  took  about  three  hundred 
pages  of  notes.  The  trial  lasted  ten  or  twelve  days, 
and  cost  the  organization  some  $2,700,  as  they  had 
to  be  brought  from  all  over  the  United  States.  All 
that  evidence  was  taken  by  Cronin  and  McCahey, 
and  was  intended  to  be  submitted  to  the  coming 
convention  to  prove  to  the  convention  that  they 
were  justified  in  finding  a  verdict  of  guilty  against 
this  man." 


250  THE   GREAT   CRONIN    MYSTERY 

TRIED   TO   GOBBLE   THE   EVIDENCE. 

"  And  that  was  the  evidence  the  executive  wanted 
Cronin  to  send  them?  " 

"  The  executive  wanted  to  get  it  from  Cronin, 
fearing  that  somebody  might  steal  it  from  them  or 
give  it  to  the  press,  which  would  lead  to  an  expo- 
sure, and  be  against  the  best  interest  of  the  organ- 
ization." 

"  Do  you  know  where  Cronin  was  summoned  to 
appear  and  surrender  this  evidence?  " 

"  He  was  simply  requested  to  hand  it  over,  so 
was  Dr.  McCahey,  and  they  both  refused. " 

"Who  is  Dr.   McCahey?" 

"  Another  one  of  the  jurors  in  this  case,  and  lives 
in  Philadelphia. " 

"  How  is  his  health  at  this  time?  " 

"  I  understand  he  is  very  sick  with  brain   fever." 

"  Explain  those  four  verdicts,  Mr.  Dillon." 

"  Boyle,  of  Pittston,  waited  a  month  after  all  the 
other  jurors  handed  in  the  evidence,  and  summed 
up  the  evidence  to  justify  his  verdict  in  favor  of 
acquitting  Alexander  Sullivan  of  any  crime,  and  to 
that  document  this  protest  was  attached. " 

"  That  went  out  separately?  " 

"  That  went  out  with  this  report  of  Boyle's;  none 
of  the  other  verdicts  summed  up  the  evidence. 
They  were  all  sent  out  printed  separately.  They 
are  all  in  one  pamphlet  at  present." 

"  Which  went  out  first?" 

"  They  all  went  out  together,  but  the  reports 
were  not  sent  in  to  the  executive  at  the  same  time." 


ALEXANDER    SULLIVAN  2$  I 

"  Were  any  of  these  findings  that  went  out  to  the 
order  against  Sullivan?  " 

"  Yes,  sir;  Dr.  Cronin  and  Dr.  McCahey  found 
Sullivan  guilty." 

*'  When  did  that  report  go  out?  " 

"  The  report  has  been  circulated  ever  since  the 
trial,  but  it  did  not  go  out  officially  until  last  week. 
It  has  been  ordered  out  for  six  or  eight  months. 
The  men  became  so  clamorous  to  hear  the  truth,  as 
there  were  continual  disputes  over  it  in  the  clubs, 
that  the  executive  at  last  felt  bound  to  send  it 
out." 

"  What  was  the  occasion  for  the  delay  in  sending 
it  out?  " 

"  Well,  it  was  thought  that,  if  it  went  to  the  clubs, 
it  would  gradually  leak  out  to  the  public  and  the 
press,  and,  as  it  was  a  very  serious  affair,  they 
thought  they  should  keep  it  for  the  convention 
only." 

"  How  generally  through  the  order  was  it  known 
that  there  had  been  —  these  two  verdicts  against 
Sullivan?  " 

"  That  was  only  known  in  this  city.  The  friends 
of  Sullivan  claimed  that  there  was  a  majority  report 
in  favor  of  his  acquittal,  and  that  was  the  reason 
Dr.  Cronin  insisted  that  he  had  papers  that  would 
prove  the  contrary.  I  have  written  to  him  —  I 
don't  know  whether  you  will  find  my  letter  among 
his  papers — advising  him  that  he  should  not  do  it; 
that  it  was  very  unwise  to  make  an  assertion  of 
that  kind." 

"  Improper?  " 


252       THE  GREAT  CRONIN  MYSTERY 

"  Well,  there  was  nothing  improper,  but  I  thought 
it  was  dangerous  to  himself  from  the  enemies  he  had 
here  in  Chicago.  I  wrote  him  that  letter  about  six 
months  ago." 

The  testimony  of  Mr.  Dillon  is  perhaps  the  most 
important  of  any  yet  given,  as  it  clearly  furnishes  a 
motive  for  the  crime,  and  points  directly  to  the 
persons  interested  in  having  Dr.  Cronin  "  removed. " 

It  has  been  given  in  detail  here,  not  only  on 
account  of  its  importance  in  its  bearings  upon  the 
guilt  or  innocence  of  the  parties  to  be  hereafter 
arraigned  for  the  murder  of  Cronin,  but  also  because 
much  of  it  is  of  a  nature  as  not  to  be  admissible  on 
the  trial  of  the  cause.  Leaving  the  sequel  to  deter- 
mine whether  or  not  the  facts  stated  by  Luke  Dil- 
lon at  the  inquest  shall  hereafter  be  established  by 
"  admissible  evidence"  in  the  Criminal  Court,  we 
will  proceed  with  another  chapter  of  "  illustrations 
of  triangular  tactics." 


TRIANGLE  TACTICS.  253 


CHAPTER  XXV. 

ILLUSTRATIONS  OF  TRIANGULAR  TACTICS — MRS. 
MACKEY  LOMASNEY'S  TESTIMONY  BEFORE  THE 
CORONER  —  How  CAPTAIN  LOMASNEY  WAS 
DETAILED  TO  SURE  DESTRUCTION — OTHER 
PATRIOTS  WHO  SUFFERED. 

BEFORE  Coroner  Hertz,  on  June  12,  1889,  Mrs. 
Mackey  Lomasney  testified. 

Captain  Lomasney  was  a  pure-minded,  unsel- 
fish man,  who  considered  all  others  enlisted  in  the 
same  cause  as  equally  honest  with  himself. 

To  "  the  cause,"  even  to  death,  he  devoted  his 
whole  energies,  he  gave  his  service  and  his  life. 

With  his  life  he  paid  the  forfeit  of  his  trust. 

In  the  early  part  of  1884,  obedie'nt  to  the  com- 
mands of  his  superior  officers,  in  whom  he  placed 
implicit  trust,  he  left  his  wife  and  five  children,  his 
aged  father,  of  all  of  whom  he  was  the  sole  sup- 
port, and,  obedient  to  the  call  of  the  Triangle,  in 
response  to  what  he  considered  his  duty  as  a  patriot, 
he  departed  for  England  upon  his  desperate 
mission. 

He  went  to  his  death,  to  death  premeditated 
for  him. 

Le  Caron,  the   spy,  knew  of  his  orders  and  his 
mission  before  he  left  these  shores.     The  detectives 
of  Scotland  Yard  were  ready  to  receive  him  on  his 
arrival;    they  knew  every  detail  of  his  plans.      He 
was  thrust  into  a  British    prison,  and   died  there, 


254  THE   GREAT   CRONIN   MYSTERY. 

another  victim  of  the  callous,  treacherous  trium- 
virate. 

Read  the  testimony  of  the  patient,  long-suffering 
wife  of  this  brave  man.  Listen  while  she  tells  the 
pitiful  story  of  her  sufferings,  of  the  neglect  of 
those  bound  to,  sworn  to,  protect,  aid  and  care  for 
her. 

They  ignored  her  entirely.  She  was  on  the 
verge  of  starvation,  she  had  to  sell  her  furni- 
ture, her  bedding;  to  mortgage  her  little  stock;  to 
beg  of  her  friends.  The  sheriff  turned  her  out  into 
the  streets,  and,  when  she  appealed  to  the  so-called 
Irish  patriots,  the  Triangle,  who  had  deprived  her 
of  her  natural  protector,  and  who  denounced 
evictions  in  Ireland  with  passionate  vehemence, 
they  would  not  listen  to  her  plaints.  They  turned 
a  deaf  ear  to  her  appeals. 

When  she  came  to  Chicago  and  besought 
Alexander  Sullivan,  who  knew  all  regarding  her 
husband's  mission  and  fate,  he  gave  her  advice, 
nothing  more.  He  told  her  to  schedule  the  stock 
of  her  store,  and  sell  it.  He  procured  her  a  ticket 
to  return  to  Detroit,  and  advised  her  to  keep  secret 
her  visit  to  him. 

She  appealed  to  others,  close  to  the  Triangle, 
but  was  turned  away  with  words,  empty  words. 

But  in  Colonel  Dick  Burke  and  Luke  Dillon  she 
found  true,  serviceable  friends.  They  gave  to  her 
money.  She  was  able  to  discard  the  borrowed 
dresses  in  which  she  had  traveled  in  order  to  make 
a  presentable  appearance,  to  pay  her  rent,  to 


TRIANGLE   TACTICS  255 

liquidate  her  debts,  to  furnish  food,  clothing  and 
other  necessaries  of  life. 

Nobody  knows  how  or  when  he  disappeared. 
He  was  called  upon  by  a  committee  from  the  camp 
of  which  he  was  a  member,  to  get  ready  to  start  for 
England  to  engage  in  a  desperate  enterprise  which, 
it  was  alleged,  had  been  set  on  foot  for  the  pur- 
pose of  avenging  wrongs  that  had  been  practiced 
on  certain  Irish  leaders.  Lomasney  obeyed  the 
mandate.  It  was  quietly  given  out  that  he  had 
reached  England,  and  had  fallen  under  the  ban  of 
the  police,  and  was  arrested.  If  this  was  the  case, 
there  never  was  any  record  of  his  arrester  commit- 
ment. Many  Irishmen  openly  charged  that,  like 
Cronin,  he  was  accused  of  traitorous  conduct,  tried 
and  sentenced  to  "  removal."  It  is  believed  that 
the  trial  and  execution  took  place  at  night  in 
Detroit,  where  he  lived.  There  v/ere  many  inci- 
dents in  Lomasney's  life,  it  is  claimed,  that  gave 
color  to  the  suspicions  that  were  entertained  against 
him;  and,  though  none  of  the  proof  that  was 
brought  to  impeach  his  patriotism  was  positive,  it 
was  so  strong  as  to  leave  no  possible  doubt  in  the 
minds  of  the  judges.  How  he  was  "  removed," 
when  he  was  "  removed,"  and  what  disposition  was 
made  of  his  remains,  will  always  be  a  mystery, 
unless  some  of  the  men  who  were  engaged  in  the 
atrocious  business  come  forward  voluntarily  and 
make  a  confession.  At  any  rate  there  was  no  bung- 
ling about  the  disposal  of  his  body.  It  was  either 
buried  in  a  prepared  grave,  or  was  submitted  to  the 


256  THE    GREAT   CRONIN    MYSTERY 

test  of  quicklime.  Not  a  vestige  of  him  was  ever 
found. 

In  Dr.  Cronin's  case  it  was  the  evident  intention 
of  the  executioners  to  dispose  of  the  body  safely, 
and  it  looks  very  much  as  if  somebody  engaged  in 
the  conspiracy  who  was  to  play  the  role  of  grave- 
digger  had  blundered  or  fearfully  forsaken  his  part. 
In  no  other  way  can  the  roundabout  course  of  the 
wagon  with  Dr.  Cronin's  remains  in  the  trunk  be 
accounted  for.  That  the  police  believe  it  took  this 
roundabout  course  is  evidenced  by  the  fact  that 
they  are  searching  for  the  doctor's  clothing  in  the 
river  at  Belmont  avenue.  Further  on  in  their  course 
with  the  wagon,  uniformed  policemen  disturbed 
their  feeling  of  safety.  They  drove  to  the  lake, 
but,  not  knowing  the  roads,  they  ran  into  a  pocket, 
and  were  again  confronted  by  a  policeman.  Prob- 
ably enraged  over  the  gravedigger's  failure  to  con- 
nect, and  alarmed  by  the  great  chances  they  were 
running,  the  conclusion  was  hastily  reached  to 
chuck  the  body  into  the  sewer. 

It  certainly  never  was  the  intention  of  the  man 
who  murdered  him  to  throw  his  carcass  in  a  sewer, 
where,  sooner  or  later,  it  was  sure  to  be  found  by 
the  gangs  that  keep  those  underground  tunnels  free 
of  dirt.  The  fact  that  they  used  so  much  method 
in  preparing  for  the  crime  admits  of  the  belief 
that  they  were  fully  prepared  to  dispose  of  the 
body,  and  that  they  would  have  done  so  but  for 
the  unexpected  appearance  of  so  many  policemen 
at  inopportune  points  along  the  route  they 
traveled. 


TRIANGLE   TACTICS  2 57 

In  Lomasney's  case  it  would  appear,  therefore, 
that  every  detail  of  the  plot  of  removal  was  carried 
out  without  interference.  General  interest  was 
awakened  in  this  remarkable  case  only  last  year, 
when  Dr.  Cronin  called  the  attention  of  a  Clan-na- 
Gael  convention  to  the  fact  that  poor  Lomasney's 
family  had  not  been  cared  for.  This  was  his  first 
specified  complaint  against  Alexander  Sullivan, 
Michael  Boland  and  Feeley.  Dr.  Cronin  claimed 
that  the  money  was  withheld  by  a  Chicago  faction, 
and  he  wanted  it  paid  over  without  further  cavil. 
The  money  was  appropriated  by  a  committee  of  the 
Clan-na-Gael  which  labored  under  the  belief  that 
the  missing  brother  was  in  an  English  dungeon. 
The  row  which  Cronin  raised  was  quickly  sup- 
pressed, however,  and  the  whole  matter  was  prac- 
tically forgotten  until  he  himself  disappeared. 

It  is  difficult  to  learn  much  about  Lomasney's 
history,  because  Clan-na-Gael  men  are  so  reticent 
about  talking  of  the  affairs  of  their  order.  For 
years  he  was  considered  an  ardent  revolutionist, 
and  he  had  entree  to  all  the  councils  of  Irish-Amer- 
icans. He  was  a  leader  in  all  physical  force  move- 
ments, and  it  is  claimed  that  he  conceived  more 
daring  enterprises  than  any  man  in  the  United 
States.  Some  of  his  friends  assert  that  he  was  the 
victim  of  the  treachery  of  Le  Caron,  the  British  spy. 
Just  about  the  time  he  disappeared  a  number  of 
Irishmen,  who  had  been  sent  across  the  Atlantic  on 
secret  business,  had  been  arrested  by  English  detect- 
ives before  they  crossed  the  gang  planks  of  the 
steamers.  As  cases  of  this  sort  happened  in  rapid 

Cronin  Mystery  17 


258  THE   GREAT    CRONIN   MYSTERY 

succession,  it  soon  became  apparent  to  members  of 
the  order  here  that  there  was  a  spy  in  some  camp 
who  was  near  the  throne  of  power.  Suspicion  was 
directed  against  scores  of  men,  but  Le  Caron,  the 
real  spy,  managed  somehow  to  protect  himself.  It 
is  claimed  that  he  first  directed  suspicion  against 
Lomasney,  and,  as  he  was  one  of  the  controlling 
powers  of  the  clan  at  that  time,  he  had  no  difficulty 
in  having  him  tried  and,convicted.  While  Le  Caron 
was  in  control  no  less  than  seventeen  men,  who  were 
sent  across  the  Atlantic  on  dangerous  missions,  were 
either  hanged  as  dynamiters  or  thrown  into  British 
prisons  to  serve  out  life  sentences. 

The  conspiracy  to  murder  Dr.  Cronin,  sinks  to 
insignificance  by  the  side  of  this  greater  conspiracy 
to  work  upon  the  noble  devotion  of  patriotic  Irish- 
men to  the  sacred  sentiment  of  Irish  liberty,  only  to 
betray  them  to  death  at  the  hands  of  the  British 
hangman,  in  order  that  the  conspirators  might  line 
their  pockets  with  the  funds  given  into  their  keep- 
ing for  the  use  of  the  brave  men  they  so  mercilessly 
lured  to  their  death. 

That  there  was  such  a  conspiracy  in  the  organi- 
zation of  the  Clan-na-Gael  seems  certainly  proven 
by  some  papers  which  were  left  by  Dr.  Cronin,  and 
were  introduced  at  the  inquest  and  read  to  the  jury 
by  Coroner  Hertz,  the  most  important  which  is 
here  given: 

TACKLING   THE   TRIANGLE. 

PHILADELPHIA,  January  15,  1889. 
To  the  F.  C.  of  the  U.  S. 

DEAR  SIRS  AND  BROTHERS  —  The  trial  committee  appointed  at 
Chicago  was  unable  to  elicit  all  the  facts  connected  with  the  charges 


TRIANGLE   TACTICS  259 

placed  before  it,  because  of  the  refusal  of  several  of  the  witnesses  to 
answer  many  of  the  questions  asked,  and  because  of  the  inability  of 
others  to  remember  events  and  figures  it  might  be  supposed  to  be  in- 
delibly impressed  on  their  memories.  From  the  evidence  presented  I 
am  obliged  to  report: 

1.  That  the  family  of  one  who  lost  his  life  in  the  service  of  this 
order  was  scandalously  and  shamefully  neglected,  and  continued  to  be 
neglected  for  two  years  after  their  destitute  condition  was  known,  and 
that  Alexander  Sullivan,    Michael   Boland,    and   D.    C.    Feeley  were 
responsible  and  censurable  for  that  neglect. 

2.  That  General  C.  H.  McCarthy,  of  St.  Paul,  Minn.,  was  unjustly 
and  deliberately  excluded  from   the   Boston  convention,   and  subse- 
quently shamefully  persecuted  and  driven   from   the  order,    and  that 
Alexander  Sullivan,  Michael  Boland,  and  D.  C.  Feeley  are  responsible 
and  censurable  for  that  series  of  reprehensible  acts. 

3.  That  delegate  from  home  organization  was  excluded  from  the 
Boston  convention,  and  that  the  same  three  defendants  are  responsible 
and  censurable  for  that  exclusion. 

4.  That  the  same  defendants  issued  a  deceptive  report  to  the   Bos- 
ton convention,  leading  the  order  to  believe  that  its  affairs  had  been 
examined  by  independent  committees,  and  that  the  order*  was  $13,000 
in  debt;  that  in  fact  Alexander  Sullivan  and  Michael  Boland  were  on 
the  committee  of  foreign  affairs,  and  the   treasurer   states    that  there 
was  a  balance  in  the  treasury,  and  not  a  debt. 

5.  That  prior  to  the  Boston  convention  $n  I, ooo  was  expended 
without  any  direct  or  indirect  benefit  to  the  order,  and  most  of  it  in  a 
manner  that  could  not  in  any  way  have  benefited  the  order,  and  that 
the  same  three  defendants   are  censurable   and  responsible  for  this 
enormous  and  wasteful  expenditure. 

6.  That  this  enormous   sum  was  spent  without  the  sanction  or 
knowledge  of  the  home  portion  of  the  R.  D. 

7.  That  various  persons  sent  abroad  were  not  supplied  with  suffi- 
cient funds,  and  that  the  agent  of  the  triangle  is  responsible  ami  cen- 
surable for  that  criminal  neglect,  and  not  the  three  defendants. 

8.  That  Michael  Boland  and    the  late  secretary  of  the  I.  N.   B. 
issued  fraudulent  transfers  for  the  purpose  of  deceiving  the  order  in 
Philadelphia  into  believing  that  the  union  with  the  home  order  had 
been  broken. 

9.  That  Michael  Bolana  and  D.  C.  Feeley,  the  former  by  acts  and 
the  latter  by  assent,  are  guilty  of  attempting   to  pack  the  Pittsburgh 
convention,  by,  first,  excluding  the  delegate  from   the   Pacific  slope ; 
second,  excluding   Mr.   McLaughlin,    delegate  from  Dakota  ;  third, 


260  THE   GREAT   CRONIN    MYSTERY 

excluding  O'Sullivanand  Delaney,  rightful  delegates  from  New  York  ; 
fourth,  admitting  Rev.  Dr.  Betts  and  John  J.  Maroney  on  bogus  cre- 
dentials from  the  bogus  districts  ;  fifth,  admitting  Boland  and  Malone, 
illegal  delegates  from  New  York  ;  sixth,  admitting  proxies  from  Iowa, 
Brooklyn  and  Illinois ;  seventh,  sitting  as  delegates  themselves  in 
direct  violation  of  the  constitution. 

10.  That  the  $80,491  reported  to  the  district  convention  as  hav- 
ing been  spent  in  active  work  was  not  spent  for  any  such  work,  no 
such  work  having  been  done  or  contemplated  during  the  eleven 
months  within  which  this  large  amount  was  drawn  from  the  treasury. 
The  active  work  done  between  the  Boston  and  district  conventions 
was  paid  for  out  of  the  surplus  held  by  the  agent  of  the  triangle  at 
the  time  of  the  Boston  convention,  and  not  out  of  the  $87,491 
drawn  from  the  treasury  months  after  such  active  work  had  ceased. 

n.  That  Michael  Boland  and  D.  C.  Feeley,  the  former  by  acts 
and  the  latter  by  silence,  are  responsible  for  the  expenditure  of  this 
large  amount  of  money,  and  censurable  for  deceiving  the  district  con- 
vention as  to  the  purpose  for  which  it  was  spent. 

12.  That  Michael  Boland,  Alexander  Sullivan  and  D.  C.  Feeley, 
the  former  by  acts  and  the  two  latter  by  assent,  illegally  suspended 
D.'s  injanudry,  1885;  and  that  Michael  Boland  and  D.  C.  Feeley, 
the  former  by  acts  and  the  latter  by  assent,  illegally  suspended  U.  D.'s 
in  New  York  in  January,  1886. 

Yours  respectfully, 

P.  McCAHEY. 

I  concur  in  the  within  and  foregoing  report,  and  would  recom- 
mend in  strict  fairness  to  all  concerned  and  in  justice  to  the  entire 
organization,  that  the  evidence  from  which  were  deduced  the  forego- 
ing be  printed  by  F.  C.  and  sent  to  each  D.  O.,  and  by  him  read  at 
the  general  meeting  or  district  over  which  he  presides. 

P.  H.  CRONIN. 
January  19,  1889. 

Among  these  papers  of  Dr.  Cronin  was  an  account, 
in  his  own  handwriting,  of  the  trial  of  the  "  tri- 
angle "  at  Buffalo,  August  29,  1888.  It  reads  as 
follows: 

WESTMINSTER  HOTEL,  NEW  YORK,  July  20. 

J.  D.  McMahon,  of  Rome,  NJW  York,  in  the 
chair.  Committee  met,  and,  after  some  discussion 


TRIANGLE   TACTICS  2OI 

as  to  choice  of  chairman  and  secretary,  the  matter 
was  arranged  by  electing  anew  J.  D.  McMahon  as 
chairman,  and  P.  A.  O'Boyle  as  secretary.  Mem- 
bers present:  McMahon,  O'Boyle,  McCahey,  Rog- 
ers, Burns  and  Cronin.  Letters  and  telegrams  wer^ 
read,  showing  that  none  of  the  defendants  were 
ready,  owing  to  brief  notice.  Accusers  on  hand. 
On  motion,  committee  adjourned,  to  meet  at  Buf- 
falo, New  York,  August  20,  1.888. 

GENESEE  HOUS-E,  BUFFALO,  N.  Y. ,  Aug.  29, 1 889. 

Committee  called  to  order.  J.  D.  McMahon,  pres- 
ident; P.  A.  O'Boyle,  secretary.  Present:  J.  D. 
McMahon,  P.  A.  O'Boyle,  P.  McCahey,  J.  J.  Rog- 
ers, P.  H.  Cronin,  C.  F.  Burns,  Sullivan,  Feeley, 
Boland,  Ryan,  Devoy,  Trude,  O'Neill,  McCahey. 
On  announcement  by  the  chair  that  the  committee 
was  ready  for  business,  Mr.  Sullivan  stated  that  he 
had  an  objection  to  offer  to  the  constitution  of  the 
committee.  Chairman  asked  if  it  was  to  the  com- 
mittee as  a  whole  or  to  any  particular  person. 

Sullivan  answered  that  it  was  to  the  personnel  of 
the  committee;  that  one  of  the  committee  was  a 
malignant  enemy  of  his  (Sullivan's);  that  the  same 
party  was  forever  pursuing  him  with  a  design  to 
injure  him;  that,  as  an  expelled  member  of  the  order, 
that  party  referred  to  ought  not  to  sit  in  any  com- 
mittee. Continuing,  Mr.  Sullivan  said  that  the 
party  referred  to  was  Dr.  Cronin,  who  recently  had 
made  statements  through  a  newspaper  in  regard  to 
him  that  he  knew  to  be  false;  that  the  newspaper 
editor,  giving  name  of  paper  and  editor,  had  sent 


262  THE   GREAT   CRONIN   MYSTERY 

him,  Sullivan,  a  letter  of  explanation;  and  that  for 
this  and  many  other  reasons  he  objected  to  being 
tried  by  the  committee  as  constituted. 

Messrs.  Feeley  and  Boland  followed,  both  strongly 
objecting  to  Dr.  Cronin.  Boland  said  that  though 
personally  he  had  some  objections  to  Dr.  McCahey, 
he  would  wave  those  objections  and  join  with 
Messrs.  Sullivan  and  Feeley  in  asking  that  Dr.  Cro- 
nin retire  from  the  committee,  they  being  willing 
to  accept  any  one  in  the  room  in  preference. 

Dr.  Cronin  replied  to  this;  said  he  thought  it 
very  strange  that  Mr.  Sullivan  should  speak  of  him 
as  a  malignant  enemy.  Dr.  Cronin  had  never  char- 
acterized Sullivan  personally  as  an  enemy;  any- 
thing said  by  him,  Cronin,  was  directed  toward  the 
men  who,  he  was  given  to  understand,  had  wrecked 
the  organization.  Sullivan  was  one  of  them,  he 
understood,  and  only  in  connection  with  certain 
developments  pertaining  to  the  order  did  he  say 
anything  of  Sullivan  If  Mr.  Sullivan  believed 
everything  told  him'by|gossip,  he,  the  doctor,  could 
not  help  it.  "  Indeed,"  the  doctor  continued, 
"  why  should  I  be  the  enemy  of  Mr.  Sullivan? 
What  has  he  done  to  me  that  I  should,  as  he  says, 
single  him  out  for  personal  enmity?  "  As  to  the 
newspaper  editor  matter,  the  doctor  said  that,  while 
not  believing  in  introducing  what  savored  of  Amer- 
ican politics,  he  could  explain  the  newspaper  affair 
by  referring  to  the  paper  itself.  Mr.  Sullivan  would 
certainly  not  make  an  affidavit  to  the  statement  that 
the  paper  had  done  what  he  said,  for  he,  Dr.  Cro- 
nin, had  evidence  that  would  easily  disprove  it. 


TRIANGLE    TACTICS  263 

To  this  Mr.  Sullivan  replied  that  he  did  not  want 
to  make  affidavits,  but  would  say  that  the  creature, 
referring  to  the  doctor,  should  not  sit  as  one  of  his 
judges;  that  he,  Sullivan,  could  prove  by  a  dozen 
men  who  would  not  believe  the  doctor  under  oath, 
that  he,  the  doctor,  was  an  expelled  member  of  the 
organization.  (Then  the  paper  mentioned  the 
names  of  three  men.) 

Dr.  Cronin  said,  interrupting  Mr.  Sullivan,  that 
the  gentleman  evidently  meant  to  irritate  him  or 
intimidate  the  committee. 

Mr.  Sullivan  said  that  he  did  not  wish  to  intimi- 
date the  committee. 

Dr.  Cronin  then  said:  "  Then,  you  probably 
mean  to  intimidate  me.  That  you  cannot  do,  sir, 
and  you  ought  to  know  it  by  this  time.  All  the 
objections  you  urge,  were  made  at  the  convention, 
and  by  an  almost  unanimous  vote  as  the  selection 
of  that  convention  I  am  the  peer  of  any  one  here, 
and  doing  my  duty  by  the  body  that  created  me. 
I  would  not  leave  if  I  could." 

Mr.  Sullivan  took  his  seat,  overruled  by  that 
body. 

The  chairman  asked  all  but  the  committee  to 
retire,  and,  upon  a  vote  being  taken,  the  objections 
of  the  defendants  to  Dr.  Cronin  were  overruled  by 
the  votes  of  the  chairman,  Messrs.  Burns,  Rogers, 
McCahey,  and  Cronin,  the  secretary,  not  voting. 
This  was  announced  to  those  making  the  objections, 
and  the  trial  proceeded. 

Before  the  trial  proceeded,  Colonel  Boland  said 
he  had  a  witness  whose  expenses  he  wished  guar- 


264  THE   GREAT   CRONIN    MYSTERY 

anteed;  that  the  witness  resided  at  Leadville.  On 
motion  it  was  ordered  that  the  expenses  of  witness 
be  guaranteed. 

Colonel  Boland  called  attention  to  the  fact  that 
many  persons  present,  who  were  witnesses,  etc., 
should  not  know  what  was  going  on.  The  colonel 
said  that  matters  of  grave  importance  might  come 
before  the  committee,  and,  as  it  was  common  report 
that  one  witness  had  given  information  to  the  British 
government,  that  John  Devoy  had  given  informa- 
tion to  the  British  government,  he  requested  that 
all  but  attorneys  for  the  prosecution  and  the  defend- 
ants remain  before  the  committee,  each  witness  to 
be  examined  separately. 

Dr.  Cronin  objected  to  this,  saying,  that,  as  Devoy 
had  been  singled  out  for  animadversion  by  Colonel 
Boland,  it  was  not  fair  for  the  committee  to  extend 
support  to  Boland's  unjust  attack. 

On  motion,  all  but  the  committee  retired.  The 
committee  then  decided  that  each  prosecutor  should 
remain  with  the  attorney,  and  that  witnesses  should 
be  introduced  separately;  the  defendants  remaining 
also;  the  committee  admitting  all  those  entitled  to 
be  present.  The  charges  were  presented  and  speci- 
fications as  follows: 

1.  That  no  active  work  had  been   performed  by 
F.  C.  that  had  been  claimed  by  that  body  and  its 
agents. 

2.  That  men  on  errands  of  the  brotherhood  had 
been  basely  neglected,  and  their  families  left  without 
support. 


TRIANGLE  TACTICS  265 

3 .  That  bogus  transfers  to  members  of  the  organ- 
ization had  been  issued  as  coming  from  Ireland. 

4.  That  the  district  convention  was  falsely  insti- 
tuted, etc. 

5.  That  F.  C.  members  sat  as  delegates  in  that 
convention  in  direct  violation   of  the  constitution. 

The  proof  of  charges  had  shown:  I.  That  they 
had  claimed  that  $87,467  had  been  expended  in 
active  work.  No  vouchers  were  presented,  no 
contracts,  and  no  money,  no  account  explained 
about.  2.  Proof  that  such  explanation  was  never 
made.  3.  But  little  money  given  Mrs.  McCahey; 
small  sums  given  to  men  abroad ;  bogus  transfers 
fabricated  by  X  Y  and  others.  4.  Convention 
illegally  constituted  at  Pittsburg;  proxies  present, 
Boland  and  Feeley  sitting  there.  Boland  offered 
position  as  R.  D.,  and  money  sent  him  that  he 
might  make  statement  that  active  work  was  engaged 
in. 

A  witness  testifies — Witness,  called  to  stand, 
after  being  duly  obligated,  testified  as  follows: 
"  Some  time  previous  to  Boston  convention  I  was 
called  on  by  certain  members  of  the  order  in  refer- 
ence to  offer  of  services  made  by  me  some  time 
previously.  After  conference  in  relation  to  details 
I  agreed  to  go  to  the  other  side.  I  went  by  steer- 
age on  ticket  procured  for  me,  and  received  £20. 
After  an  absence  of  seven  weeks  I  returned  by 
steerage  passage  out  of  amount  received.  Upon 
my  arrival  in  America  I  met  Donovan,  who  acted 
as  agent  for  the  body,  and  who  paid  me  $50. 
Donovan  was  then  in  the  employ  of  General  Ker- 


266  THE   GREAT   CRONIN   MYSTERY 

win.  I  complained  of  small  amount  given  me,  but 
did  not  ask  for  more.  Not  enough  was  given  me 
for  the  work  expected  to  be  done.  Later  in  the 
same  year  I  was  again  called  on  by  Donovan,  who 
asked  me  if,  in  addition  to  myself,  I  could  furnish 
enough  men  to  accomplish  a  certain  amount  of 
active  work.  He  asked  me  would  I  go  again.  I 
said  yes.  Looked  up  the  men.  It  was  almost 
impossible  to  find  any.  Got  two  men  on  steamer 
and  one  to  accompany  me  to  do  work  abroad. 
Everything  being  ready,  and  I  met  Donavan  at 
Green's  hotel,  Philadelphia,  in  company  with  John 
J.  Maroney.  Donovan  told  me  that  Maroney 
would  buy  tickets  for  me  by  steerage.  They  cost 
$18  apiece;  and  $100  was  again  given  me  to  carry 
on  work.  I  told  Donovan  that  on  former  occasions 
I  had  to  go  on  vessel  three  days  after  work  was 
done;  that  the  sum  now  offered  me  was  entirely 
too  little  for  the  work  looked  for.  I  insisted 
on  getting  money  enough  for  the  purpose  of 
safety,  else  I  would  not  go.  Donovan  told  me 
that  sufficient  funds  would  be  furnished  me  on  the 
other  side.  He  stated  his  reasons  for  not  giving 
me  more  before  leaving  were  that  men  engaged  in 
similar  work  had  been  arrested  on  landing  on  the 
other  side  —  that  my  carrying  a  large  sum  might 
excite  suspicion.  That  was  satisfactory  to  me, 
especially  as  I  was  given  the  name  of  the  agent  on 
the  other  side  who  was  to  furnish  funds  as  needed. 
I  left  the  room  and  sent  in  another  man,  the  one 
that  was  to  accompany  me.  Maroney  left  the  room 
with  me.  This  other  man  said  he  received  the  same 


TRIANGLE   TACTICS  267 

amount  that  I  did.  Maroney  then  told  me  he  was 
glad  I  refused  to  accept  the  sum  offered  me  as  total 
compensation  forthework.  He  also  said  he  did  not 
believe  it  was  the  wish  of  the  F.  C.  to  do  as  the  S. 
said.  He  promised  to  see  the  F.  C.  and  demand 
money  from  them,  and,  should  they  not  give  it,  he 
would  send  me  help  on  the  next  steamer  by  a  trusty 
man.  On  the  way  over  I  had  to  pay  over  £2  for 
certain  accommodations  on  the  steamer.  After 
being  on  the  other  side  nine  days  taking  care  not  to 
excite  suspicion,  I  had  but  .£10  left.  I  then  went 
to  Capital  City  and  met  the  man  who  I  was  told 
was  the  agent  and  would  give  me  money,  and  I 
told  him  I  wanted  some  help,  as  I  was  short  of 
funds.  I  asked  him  for  £10.  He  denied  having 
any  money  for  any  such  purpose;  he  had  no  more  than 
he  required  for  actual  expenses,  and  hardly  that. 
He  said  all  he  had  received  on  landing  was  $200. 

Objected  to  by  Boland,  who  asked  to  know  how 
witness  knew  man  was  agent. 

Witness — I  was  told  by  Donovan,  in  the  pres- 
ence of  Maroney,  that  upon  my  arrival  on  the  other 
side  I  would  get  funds  from  the  man  mentioned. 
The  man  then  went  on  to  say,  that,  owing  to  cir- 
cumstances, he  might  be  obliged  to  stay  for  a  year. 
He  had  worked  at  his  business  for  some  time,  but 
was  doing  nothing  now.  I  then  said  I  would 
return  at  once  to  America.  He  said  he  would  at 
once  ask  something  for  me  from  Ex.  I  replied  that, 
if  he  did  not  get  funds,  I  would  go  back.  Before 
leaving,  I  asked  him  where  would  it  be  necessary 
to  do  the  work.  He  said  he  did  not  know;  things 


268  THE   GREAT   CRONIN   MYSTERY 

were  looking  queer;  that  he  was  sure  he  had   been 
betrayed  by  some  one. 

Question  by  Mr.  Ryan  —  What  became  of  this 
man? 

Witness  —  He  is  now  in  prison.  His  reason  for 
thinking  he  was  betrayed  was  that  two  men  had 
called  at  his  lodging,  asking  for  him  under  his 
assumed  name.  I  told  him  to  change  his  lodging. 
But  soon  after  I  was  told  that  he  had  been  followed 
up  by  the  same  individuals,  whom  he  suspected 
were  detectives.  This  alarmed  him  very  much. 
At  his  request  work  was  delayed  six  weeks.  I  at 
last  told  him  I  would  do  the  work.  There  were 
four  of  us.  At  various  times  I  asked  him  if  he  had 
received  any  money  from  Ex.  He  said  no.  He 
was  so  very  careful  that  my  men  deemed  it  coward- 
ice. I  called  his  attention  to  this  before  the  men, 
saying  we  looked  for  courage  at  this  time.  He 
repeated  before  us,  that  he  believed  he  had  been 
betrayed,  for,  though  he  had  changed  his  lodgings 
several  times,  the  party  he  suspected  of  being  a 
detective  had  called  upon  him  at  each  place. 

Exception  by  defendant. 

I  finally  induced  him  to  give  orders  to  do  the 
work.  This  was  on  Thursday.  On  Saturday  we 
did  it.  After  the  work  was  done  I  met  him  that 
same  evening.  He  remained  in  Capital  City  seven 
days  afterward.  I  was  so  reduced  for  funds  that  I 
prevailed  upon  him  to  give  me  £4.  of  the  £16  he 
had  left.  On  landing  in  this  country  had  £$$4. 
Had  no  bed  or  bedding  on  the  ship;  slept  on  the 
top  side  of  a  plank. 


TRIANGLE  TACTICS  269 

(This  in  answer  to  a  question  by  Dr.  Cronin.)  I 
at  once  complained  to  Donovan  and  Maroney,  and 
through  them  to  the  executive  or  General  Kerwin 
of  the  treatment  I  had  received  and  the  culpable 
neglect  of  the  F.  C.  About  the  last  of  February, 
1885,  Donovan  furnished  me  $10  with  which  to 
reach  my  home.  The  man  in  charge  of  the  order 
made  me  take  an  oath  before  leaving  to  bring  the 
matter  before  the  order. 

I  always  supposed  Kerwin  was  a  member  of  the 
executive.  Before  leaving  America  I  told  Maroney 
that  I  would  take  an  alias  known  to  me.  My  alias 
was  the  proper  name  of  a  man.  The  imprisoned 
one  bore  the  alias  given  to  me.  This  was  the 
agent.  He  was  four  miles  from  the  place  we 
worked  at.  Only  three  of  us  did  the  work. 

Question  by  Mr.  Ryan  —  How  much  money  in 
all  did  you  receive? 

Ansiver — Four  persons,  in  all  $500;  of  this  the 
agent  got  $200.  We  were  two  months  in  the 
country. 

;<  Then  the  witness,"  said  the  coroner,  "makes  a 
statement  that  the  other  man  went  with  him  whose 
name  I  did  not  read  the  last  time.  This  man  came 
back  six  weeks  after.  At  an  expense  for  material, 
I  should  think,  of  $7,400  in  all  to  cover  the  enter- 
prise. " 

Question  —  How  many  operations  did  you  per- 
form? 

Answer — Three.  We  always  bade  each  other 
good-bye  after  each  meeting,  thinking  it  might  be 
our  last  meeting  on  earth.  I  have  learned  that  in 


270  THE  GREAT   CRONIN   MYSTERY 

order  to  get  back,  the  other  man  who  went  over 
with  me  had  to  sell  his  clothes  to  get  passage 
money.  He  came  with  a  sprained  ankle.  In  July 
or  August,  1885,  he  received  seven  dollars  from 
Maroney.  I  took  up  Rossa's  paper  one  day,  and 
in  It  I  saw  an  announcement  of  a  subscription  to 
keep  the  mother  of  Cunningham.  I  went  to 
Maroney,  and,  after  telling  him  it  was  shameful 
that  she  should  be  allowed  to  suffer,  he  said  that 
he  would  see  to  the  matter.  Spoke  of  General 
Kerwin  as  being  asked  to  send  some  help;  said  he 
would  not.  I  said,  if  they  didn't,  I  would.  Ker- 
win then  came  to  my  home,  and  said  I  ought  to  be 
expelled.  I  told  him  he  ought  to  send  help  to  the 
woman;  he  said  he  ought  not,  as  the  man  himself 
had  abundant  means.  I  finally  induced  Mr.  Ryan 
to  get  F.  C.  to  send  something,  and  $100  was  sent 
through  D.  18,  who  sent  it  through  F.  C.,  and  I 
was  informed  of  S.  G.  of  18.  A  few  months  after  I 
meta  lady  of  Detroit  who  told  me  that  Captain  Mack- 
ey's  wife  was  in  want;  he  was  killed  at  London,  and 
was  assured,  I  was  told,  that  his  family  would  never 
want.  Lomasney  and  his  brother,  accompanied 
by  Fleming,  went  over  in  1884.  I  wrote  to 
Cochrane,  and  both  assured  me  Mrs.  Mackey  was 
in  want.  At  once  $1,025  was  raised,  and  was  sent 
to  Detroit,  where  matters  were  found  to  be  even 
worse  than  they  had  been  represented. 

In  the  case  of  Dr.  Gallagher,  his  people  were  in 
want.  Mr.  Delaney  had  recovered  the  money  on 
the  doctor's  person,  but  that  was  only  a  small  sum, 
and  most  of  it  was  being  used  in  his  defense. 


TRIANGLE   TACTICS  271 

On  consultation  met  D.  in  New  York;  $IOO  was 
raised  and  sent  to  Mrs.  Gallagher.  I  requested 
that  the  men  on  trial  on  the  other  side  should  be 
defended.  General  Kerwin  said  that  friendless  men 
were  better  off  in  such  cases.  1  raised  .£50  to  send 
to  Jack  Delaney's  sister. 

DECEIVING  I.    R.    B. 

Witness  produced  five  forms  of  transfer  purport- 
ing to  be  in  accordance  with  the  rules  of  the  com- 
bined order,  but  which  were  shown  to  be  bogus, 
Witness  said:  "  I  wrote  in  the  early  part  of  June, 
1886,  for  transfers  for  certain  persons  in  Philadel- 
phia, who  had  been  clamoring  for  admission  into  D. 
I  said  it  would  do  a  great  deal  of  good  to  be  able 
to  show  that  we  were  in  opinion  with  the  folks  at 
home.  Within  four  days  I  received  six,  of  which 
those  five  are  a  part:  McMahon,  Burn,  Henry,  Gal- 
lagher, Henry,  the  witness  testifying.  Leonard 
stated  to  me " 

Objected  to  by  defendants. 

PITTSBURG   CONVENTION. 

Some  time  before  the  Pittsburg  convention  wit- 
ness was  called  upon  by  P.  O'Sullivan  and  J.  J. 
Delaney,  who  had  learned  that  he  was  a  delegate  to 
the  convention.  They  said  they  represented  eleven 
D.'s,  and  that,  in  order  to  seat  Boland  and  Miller, 
Sullivan  and  Delaney  were  thrown  out  by  the  sus- 
pension of  D. 

Mr.  Boland  objects  to  this. 

"  Mr.  Ryan  and  I  protested  at  the  convention,  and 


2/2  THE    GREAT   CRONIN    MYSTERY 

asked  that  Delaney  and  Sullivan  be  seated.  We 
stated  that  a  good  member  of  the  executive  should 
sit  as  a  delegate  in  the  convention ;  for  the  same 
.reason  we  objected  to  Mr.  Feeley  and  Mr.  Glea- 
son.  Each  of  those  men  voted  to  seat  the  other. 
We  objected  to  the  proxies  from  Chicago,  Messrs. 
Tim  Crean  and  Florence  Sullivan,  the  latter  a  proxy 
for  Father  Dorney.  The  other  said  he  represented 
Alexander  Sullivan. 

"  It  having  been  stated  that  district  S  was  repre- 
sented or  had  representation  by  virtue  of  a  cable- 
gram sent  to  Gleason  and  Sullivan,  Boland  requests 
them  to  act  for  Australia,  and  that  John  J.  Maroney 
and  Dr.  Betts  were  admitted  as  proxies.  We  asked 
the  secretary  if  any  money  had  been  sent  by  this 
district  in  any  communication  had  before  the  receipt 
of  this  cablegram.  Secretary  said  he  hadn't  had 
any  communication  with  S  at  all.  The  commu- 
nication was  with  Alexander  Sullivan  and  Michael 
Boland 

"  We  then  asked  how  the  Australian  cablegram 
came  here — by  which  route.  This  the  secretary 
didn't  seem  to  know.  Mr.  Ryan  then  informed  the 
convention  that  all  cablegrams  reaching  here  from 
Australia  were  recorded  in  the  London  Postoffice. 
For  this  reason  he  thought  it  highly  improbable 
that  any  such  message  came  to  the  gentlemen  men- 
tioned." 

Here  Mr.  Sullivan  denied  having  been  appointed 
delegate  to  the  convention,  or  that  his  brother 
Florence  represented  him  there. 

The  Witness — I  was  R.  D.  at  that  time  in  place 


TRIANGLE   TACTICS  2/3 

of  General  Kerwin.  Before  my  election  as  delegate 
I  never  acted  as  R.  D.  There  was  no.  connection 
with  the  home  body.  I  received  $500  from  Mr. 
Ryan,  which,  it  was  said,  I  was  to  use  as  my  judg- 
ment dictated.  I  asked  Boland  if  I  should  do  any 
active  work  outside  and  keep  a  lookout  for  it ;  I 
spent  money  afterward  in  trying  to  right  the  order. 

CROSS-EXAMINED   BY  ALEXANDER   SULLIVAN. 

Q.  —  When  and  to  whom  did  you  complain  on 
your  return  to  this  country? 

A. —  To  Donovan. 

Q. — You  made  no  complaint  to  the  executive 
directly? 

A.— No. 

CROSS-EXAMINED   BY  BOLAND. 

Q. —  How  did  you  get  the  money,  the  $500? 

A. — In  cash.  This  was  three  months  before  the 
convention. 

Q. —  Did  I  ask  you  to  get  the  amount  right  as 
representing  R.  D.? 

A.  —  I  told  you  I  had   them  on  the  ship. 

Q. —  Has  any  difficulty  since  that  made  you  say 
why  you  were  on  R.  D.  ? 

A.— No. 

Q. — Were  you  a  delegate  at  the  time  you  got 
the  money? 

A.— No. 

Q. —  Were  you  not  appointed  on  foreign  rela- 
tions or  finance  committee? 

A.— No. 

Cronin  Mystery  j8 


274  THE   GREAT   CRONIN   MYSTERY 

Q — Pending  the  discussion  of  the  report,  you 
left  the  convention? 

A. —  I  left,  claiming  it  was  not  a  convention  of 
the  order. 

Q. —  You  don't  know  who  I  appointed? 

A. —  No;  I  was  not  in  on  permanent  organiza- 
tion. 

Q. —  You  don't  know  of  operations  outside  of 
your  own? 

A.— No. 

Cross-examination  by  Rogers — I  voted  at  the 
convention  under  a  vote  taken  on  various  motions. 

By  Mr.  Ryan — Do  you  know  of  any  work 
having  been  done  between  January  20,  1885,  and 
the  district  convention? 

A.— No. 

Q. —  How  much  did  it  cost  for  Mackey's  work? 

Objected  to  by  Feeley. 

Q. — When  did  you  get  that  $500? 

A. — The  check  sent  by  Boland  to  Ryan  will 
show  I  got  the  money  from  Ryan,  but  he  received 
it  by  check. 

Constitution  of  the  order  offered  in   evidence. 

Examination  of  another  witness.  (Obligated, 
name,  etc.)  My  knowledge  when  I  was  elected  D. 
M.  to  fill  vacancy  caused  by  resignation  of  John  J. 
Maroney.  In  July,  1885,  his  resignation  was  de- 
manded by  the  district.  In  October  I  went  out  as 
organizer  for  National  League  through  the  West. 
Nov.  23  I spokeat Philadelphia.  Severalseniors men- 
tioned that  Dillon  was  in  straitened  circumstances. 
I  promised  to  see  the  executive.  I  saw  General  Ker- 


TRIANGLE  TACTICS  2/5 

win,  D.  M.  of  New  York.  He  said,  when  I  men- 
tioned the  matter  to  him,  that  he  had  no  power; 
that  this  was  not  an  order  to  grant  pensions.  He 
would  see  Boland.  I  met  Boland  by  arrangement. 
He  listened  to  what  I  had  to  say,  and  at  first 
refused  to  assist  Dillon.  Finally,  he  said  he  would 
consider  the  matter.  Then  he  authorized  me  to 
pay  $200  of  obligations  maturing.  I  advanced 
this  myself,  and  got  it  back  in  December,  1885; 
and  I  saw  General  Kerwin  and  told  him  he  should 
send  money  to  Mrs.  Cunningham;  that  the  lady 
was  hurt  on  the  subject  of  her  being  neglected  by 
us.  He  said  he  would  send  it.  In  December, 
1885,  it  was  rumored  that  our  convention  would 
beheld  in  January,  1886.  I  was  told  by  Kerwin 
and  Boland  that  Egan  wanted  to  retire  from  the 
presidency  of  the  league.  I  was  not  asked  by 
them  to  accept  the  secretaryship  of  the  league. 
This  I  refused.  It  was  said  considerable  trouble 
might  be  looked  for  in  my  case.  About  the  last 
of  December  I  was  sent  for  to  go  to  New  York. 
I  saw  Boland  and  Kerwin  together  at  this  time,  as 
well  as  in  January  and  February.  Had  interviews 
with  Kerwin  and  Boland  on  the  subject  of  the  con- 
vention and  like  matters.  Mr.  Boland  asked  me 
why  I  would  not  take  the  secretaryship.  He  said 
the  plan  for  holding  a  convention  of  the  order  had 
been  abandoned,  as  the  L.  R.  then  did  not  take 
place.  Men  would  get  out,  and  I  would  be  selected 
as  president  of  the  league. 

Some  time   after  this  I    received  the  following 
letter  from  Kerwin:    "  My    Dear  Sir   (giving  the 


2?6       THE  GREAT  CRONIN  MYSTERY 

name)  —  The  Chicago  people  have  asked  for  you 
for  the  4th  of  March.  If  you  will  take  my  advice 
you  will  take  no  office  in  the  league. " 

I  was  led  to  believe  about  this  time  that  the 
organization  intended  opposing  Parnell,  owing  to 
his  recognition  of  others.  Boland  and  Kenvin  both 
said  this. 

Interrupted  by  Boland — Is  that  your  recollec- 
tion of  what  took  place  ? 

A.-  Yes. 

Various  letters  were  here  shown,  "  Exhibit  B." 

The  coroner  here  spoke  up.  and  said:  "  No  such 
'  Exhibit  B  '  has  been  found  among  the  doctor's 
papers." 

CROSS-EXAMINED   BY  MR.  ROGERS. 

Q. —  What  did  you  give  the  money  to  Dillon  for? 

A. —  The  money  had  been  given  me  as  a  general 
resource.  I  did  not  want  to  go  into  active  work, 
and  suggested  Dillon.  I  gave  him  the  money. 
Boland  authorized  this  by  a  letter  to  me.  Letter 
read.  Dillon  had  convinced  me  that  the  F.  C. 
hadn't  done  fair;  in  fact,  I  felt  that  Boland  was 
trying  to  play  me,  and  I  wished  to  return  the  com- 
pliment. 

Q. — Did  you  want  to  accept  the  presidency  of 
the  league  ? 

A. — The  slate  was  Baldwin,  Minton  and  Carroll 
for  F.  C.,  and  myself  for  president  of  the  league. 
I  knew  that  my  age  was  a  bar  to  my  acceptance. 
Then,  I  was  going  to  attack  the  ones  in  authority. 
I  attended  the  convention.  Carroll  was  temporary 


TRIANGLE   TACTICS 


chairman  ;  Reynolds  was  elected  permanent  chair- 
man. 

Convention  went  into  committee  of  the  whole. 
It  was  reported  that  Father  Dorney  could  not  come, 
because  he  had  trouble  with  the  bishop,  and  that 
Alexander  Sullivan  was  absent  because  British 
detectives  were  shadowing  him.  I  held  that  no 
member  of  the  executive  could  sit  as  a  delegate; 
quoted  the  constitution;  no  exception  to  my  doing 
so;  the  fact  was  as  stated  by  me.  The  last  district 
called  was  Q.  For  R  we  were  directed  to  apply  to 
the  secretary.  District  S  was  named.  I  objected 
to  this,  as  no  mention  had  been  made  of  it  in  our 
report.  I  asked,  "  Where  is  it?  "  I  was  answered, 
"  Australia."  Its  representatives  here  are  Maroney 
and  Betts.  They  said  they  represented  Boland  and 
Sullivan.  I  asked  if  there  was  any  organization  in 
Australia.  I  was  answered:  "  There  is  one  in  con- 
templation. "  The  secretary  said  Betts  and  Maroney 
were  there  by  order  of  the  executive,  and  by  order 
of  a  cablegram  sent  to  Sullivan  and  Boland. 

Sullivan  is  said  to  be  not  a  member  of  the  order, 
and  Boland  represents  New  York.  They  had 
earlier  said  that  Sullivan  was  shadowed  by  detect- 
ives. 

I  then  showed  how  the  cablegram  had  come 
from  England.  Letters  had  been  left  with  the 
president  by  Boland.  Districts  H  and  B  declared 
they  would  leave  the  convention.  We  refused  to 
take  any  part.  Did  not  return.  Motion  to  expel 
seceding  members  carried  by  a  vote  of  20  to  5. 


2/8  THE   GREAT   CRONIN   MYSTERY 

CROSS-EXAMINED   BY    BOLAND. 

Q. — The  conversations  were  in  the  presence  of 
Kerwin,  were  they  not? 

A. — Yes,  many  of  them. 

Q. — Did  the  matter  come  up  in  relation  to  your 
treatment  at  Chicago  —  some  of  it  took  place  before 
you  were  elected? 

A. —  Yes.  At  district  meeting  of  S.  J.,  Kerwin 
was  present  as  the  representative  of  F.  C.  The 
district  requested  me  to  accept.  Had  no  conversa- 
tion with  you  until  months  after. 

Question  by  Mr.  Feeley — Did  you  present  any 
objection  at  district  convention  as  your  statement 
as  to  district? 

A. —  No;  because  I  knew  nothing  of  any  other 
district. 

Q. —  Did  you  present  any  evidence,  other  than 
your  statement,  in  relation  to  any  of  the  acts  men- 
tioned? 

A. —  No;  because  I  was  not  aware  of  any  man 
elected. 

Q. —  Do  you  recollect  that  a  vote  was  taken  in 
regard  to  District  A? 

A. —  Yes;  if  you  have  any  doubt  I  can  refer  you 
to  mem. 

Q. —  Do  you  recollect  my  opposing  the  repre- 
sentation of  Australia  by  any  person  in  that  body? 

A. —  No;  you  spoke  to  me,  however,  and  said 
to  me  that  I  should  not  oppose  it;  that  you  were 
as  anxious  as  I,  for  you  had  been  ignored  or  not 


TRIANGLE   TACTICS  2/9 

consulted  for  eighteen  months.  You  voted  to  seat 
Australia. 

Q. — You  charged  that  the  executive  used  the 
funds  of  the  organization  to  pay  Maroney's  debts, 
did  you? 

A. —  No;  in  August,  1884,  Maroney  was  a  por- 
ter in  a  store  on  Market  street.  Soon  after  he  was 
D.  M.  of  three  counties  surrounding  Philadelphia. 
He  went  into  the  gents'  furnishing  goods  business 
at  2400  Kensington  avenue.  He  got  $400  from 
the  executive;  check  on  the  Continental  Bank 
exchanged  to  his  credit.  Afterward  he  went  into 
debt  $600  to  McDermott,  Red  Jim.  This 
amount  the  executive  paid  to  McDermott.  I  saw 
the  $600  paid  him.  I  made  the  fact  known  to  the 
convention. 

Mr.  Boyle  interrupts: 

Q. —  What  was  the  relation  between  Maroney 
and  the  executive? 

A. —  I  don't  know. 

Mr.  Rogers  —  What  did  Maroney  say  when  you 
gave  him  the  money? 

(There  is  no  answer  to  that  question.) 

Mr.  O "Boyle — Upon  whom  was  the  check 
drawn? 

A. —  All  checks  were  signed  by  Kerwin  for  the 
executive. 

Mr.  Rogers —  Had  this  not  been  a  prior  date? 

A.— No. 

Mr.  Feeley — Was  your  charge  denied  by  Ma- 
roney? 

A. —  No;  he  said  the  money  was  furnished  by  the 


280  THE  GREAT  CRONIN   MYSTERY 

executive  for  work,  until  he  should  earn  enough  to 
pay  it  back. 

Mr.  Feeley  —  When  was  Maroney's  debt  paid? 

A. —  Some  time  in  December 

Q. —  Did  Maroney  do  any  work  after  that? 

A. —  He  acted  as  a  detective  in  Iowa.  He  went 
with  Sullivan  and  Boland  to  St.  Paul. 

Dr.  Cronin  —  Did  the  term  report  show  any  loss 
to  Maroney? 

A. —  I  could  not  say;  the  time  was  from  August, 
1885,  to  August,  1886. 

Examination  of  another  witness,  a  member  since 
the  beginning  of  the  old  organization: 

Q. —  Did  you  know  Captain  Lomasney? 

A.— Yes. 

Q. —  Do  you  know  of  his  having  left  on  a  cer- 
tain motion? 

A.  —  Yes,  three  or  four  times  since  his  impris- 
onment as  Mr.  O'Sullivan,  in  1867. 

Q. — Do  you  remember  the  last  time  he  went? 

A. — Yes;  in  August,  1884. 

Q. — What  did  he  say  to  you  on  the  subject  of 
his  work? 

A. —  I  was  closer  than  a  brother  to  him.  Our 
families  had  constant  intercourse.  I  offered  him 
my  hand  the  day  he  told  me  of  his  project;  had 
very  little  help.  Wife  saved  a  bed. 

Q. —  What  family  had  he? 

A. —  A  wife  and  four  children  and  an  aged 
father. 

Q. — Who  were  with  him? 

A. —  His  brother  Jim  and  Mr.  So-and-so. 


TRIANGLE    TACTICS  28 1 

Q. —  Have  they  been  seen  since? 

(No  answer  to  this.) 

Q.  —  What  was  Mrs.  Lomasney's  condition  before 
his  going? 

A. —  A  most  outrageous  case  of  neglect.  Flem- 
ming's  mother  dead  in  the  poor  house 

Q. —  Did  you  ask  for  help? 

A. —  Yes;  in  1885  I  went  to  New  York.  We 
had  no  directors.  I  called  upon  Dr.  Wallace;  he 
was  D.  Saw  Mulvaney  and  Condon;  the  latter 
went  with  me  to  Carroll;  he  professed  utter  ignor- 
ance of  the  whole  affair.  I  said,  "  By  God,  you 
must  see  her;  "  her  Mrs.  L. ,  he  decided  to.  Mul- 
vaney said,  "  Why  don't  you  see  Boland?  "  Found 
him  on  Fifth  avenue;  he  denied  all  responsibility; 
he  would  have  nothing  to  do  with  it.  Finally  he 
claimed  she  had  received  much  money.  I  said  she 
did  not.  He  was  non-committal.  His  acknowl- 
edgment made  him  responsible. 

Q. —  Did  you  see  Carroll  at  New  York? 

A. —  Yes;  we  met  him  at  Vesey  street.  He  left 
me  to  go  into  the  Herald  building  and  brought  me 
$100.  I  refused  this.  I  told  him  I  didn't  come  for 
money.  I  said.  "  You  know  how  to  send  this,  as 
you  have  the  others;  if  you  respect  the  memory  of 
the  dead,  and  the  widow  and  the  orphan,  made  so 
by  your  act,  do  your  duty  by  all." 

Q. —  Until  August,  1886,  what  was  her  condi- 
tion? 

A.  —  Poverty  stricken;  no  coal,  no  clothing, 
nothing  left  her  but  her  misery  and  her  pride. 


282  THE   GREAT  CRONIN   MYSTERY 

Our  S.  G.  would  not  give  the  channel  of  communi- 
cation 

He  read  our  resolutions;  whether  he  ever  for- 
warded them  or  not,  I  did  never  know.  He  is 
dead.  He  told  the  committee  of  D  that  the 
organization  was  not  responsible. 

Mr.  Rogers — You  swear  you  called  the  atten- 
tion of  Boland  and  Carroll  to  her  condition? 

A. —  Yes,  and  not  until  somebody  came  to  us 
with  $1,025  did  the  poor  woman  have  any  ade- 
quate support. 

By  Dr.  Cronin  —  Did  Lomasney  attend  the  dis- 
trict convention  held  in  Chicago  in  1884? 

A. —  No;  he  was  not  elected. 

Q. —  Was  anyone  elected  from  your  D? 

A. —  No,  we  noticed  it  very  much.  We  could 
not  account  for  our  D  having  no  representation. 

Q. — Would  Lomasney  tell  you  if  he  had  been 
elected  a  delegate  by  any  one  outside  of  D? 

A. — Yes,  and  we  would  have  been  aware  of  his 
absence. 

Q. — Would  he  have  gone  there  if  not  elected  a 
delegate? 

A. — No,  he  was  the  soul  of  honor  and  despised 
trickery;  he  did  not  care  for  office;  never  held  any 
in  his  life  except  in  danger. 

Mr.  Boland — Did  you  see  him  at  Boston? 

A. — Walsh  told  me  he  had  no  control.  S.  G. 
contended  that  organization  had  no  responsibility. 
In  1885  John  Maroney  called;  said  he  had  been 
especially  sent.  They  had  come  for  a  little  money; 
gave  $10;  Lomasney  had  nothing.  N.  Y.  D.  S. 


TRIANGLE    TACTICS  283 

raised  and  sent  $150.  More  was  raised  and  sup- 
pressed. In  1887  the  sheriff  put  Mrs.  L.  out  on 
the  street.  No  home  was  ever  bought  for  her. 

Question  by  Mr.  Dillon — Do  you  know  Mrs.  L. 
is  an  economical  woman? 

A. — Yes.  People  began  to  talk  of  her  and  sent 
an  organization  to  me  to  say  she  was  extravagant; 
talked  of  her  husband's  taking  off,  which  prejudiced 
many,  and  her  rent  was  raised.  She  had  been  pay- 
ing $30  a  month;  no  general  increase;  the  landlord 
wanted  to  put  her  out. 

SUSAN    LOMASNEY    TESTIFIES. 

Mrs.  Lomasney  examined.  Upon  Alexander 
Sullivan's  request  not  sworn.  Husband  went  away 
in  August,  1884. 

Q. — How  much  money  have  you  received  from 
the  organization  since? 

A. — A  thousand  dollars  altogether. 

Q. — How  much  since? 

A. — In  the  summer  of  1885  I  visited  Alexander 
Sullivan.  I  went  to  inquire  after  my  husband,  as  I 
was  led  to  believe  he  was  in  possession  of  certain 
facts;  he  did  not  know  my  condition,  nor  did  he 
relieve  me.  He  did  send  for  a  ticket  to  Detroit, 
with  which  I  returned  home. 

Q. — When  again  did  you  call  upon  Mr.  Sulli- 
van? 

A.  —  In  August,  1886, 1  made  known  my  condi- 
tion, and,  after  advising  me  to  sell  my  little  store, 
he  asked  me  for  a  schedule  of  my  liabilities,  $200; 
he  would  attend  to  the  matter.  He  gave  me  no 


284  THE    GREAT   CRONIN   MYSTERY 

money  nor  offered  me  any.  He  seemed  anxious 
that  I  should  not  communicate  with  any  one  in  the 
city.  He  asked  me  if  I  was  acquainted  with  any 
one.  I  told  him  of  James  Q.  Mr.  S.  said  I  should 
not  mention  his,  Sullivan's,  name  to  any  one,  etc.  I 
called  on  Q.  He  talked  to  me  about  Father  Dor- 
ney.  No  help. 

Met  Colonel  Richard  Burke,  and  he,  with  some 
friends,  assisted  me.  I  know  that  Mr.  Sullivan  was 
the  one  that  had  a  right  to  attend  to  this.  Was 
afterward  amazed  that  he  did  not.  The  dress  I 
wore  was  a  borrowed  one.  John  Hickey  was  S.  G. 
Several  weeks  after  I  went  to  Mr.  Sullivan  and 
asked  him  a  loan  of  $100;  this  he  sent  me;  nothing 
since.  I  could  not  give  up  the  store,  as  that  would 
confirm  the  belief  that  husband  was  dead,  or  in  the 
business.  Thomas  Tuite  was  the  first  to  relieve  my 
necessities. 

CROSS-EXAMINED   BY   ALEXANDER   SULLIVAN. 

Q. — You  saw  me  in  1886,  was  it  not? 

A. — Yes,  certain.  Another  $500  came  from 
Brooklyn.  I  had  a  letter  sent  by  my  husband  when 
he  was  in  Europe  inclosing  one  from  Alexander 
Sullivan,  in  which  he  said,  in  my  letter,  he  asked 
for  money.  I  afterward  received  a  note  from  my 
husband,  saying  he  had  received  money  from  Mr. 
Sullivan;  I  don't  know  the  amount. 

Here  Mr.  S.  admitted  that  Lomasney  was  sent 
by  organization. 

The  last  letter  from  husband  was  in  1884;  anxious 
to  go  home.  His  age,  forty-four. 


TRIANGLE   TACTICS  285 

Examination  of  another  witness.  Evidence  cor- 
roborates that  of  the  first  witness  taken.  Received 
£20  and  one  steerage  passage  six  weeks  after  the 
first  witness.  No  shoes.  Sold  clothes  and  trunk 
to  get  home.  No  bed. 

These  papers  left  by  Dr.  Cronin  were  often 
referred  to  by  him  in  conversations  with  his  friends 
as  furnishing  probable  proof  against  his  murderers, 
in  case  he  should,  as  he  constantly  believed  he 
would,  meet  with  a  sudden  death  at  the  instance  of 
the  men  whose  heartless  villainy  he  had  so  fear- 
lessly and  thoroughly  exposed.  Dr.  Cronin  was  not 
mistaken  either  as  to  his  belief  that  he  would  be 
assassinated  or  in  the  estimate  that  he  placed  upon 
the  importance  of  the  papers  in  the  matter  of  hunt- 
ing down  the  perpetrators  of  his  murder. 

In  the  direction  pointed  out  by  Dr.  Cronin, 
the  officers  of  the  law,  as  detailed  in  the  next  chap- 
ter, trace  home  the  crime  to  its  instigators. 


286  THE  GREAT   CRONIN   MYSTERY 

CHAPTER  XXVI. 

THE  CRIME  TRACED  HOME  TO  THE  TRIANGLE 
AND  THE  LEADERS  OF  CAMP  20  —  REVIEW  OF 
THE  DAMNING  FACTS  AGAINST  THE  CONSPIRA- 
TORS — FRANK  WOODRUFF,  DANIEL  COUGHLIN, 
PATRICK  O'SULLIVAN,  JOHN  F.  BEGGS,  MARTIN 
BURKE,  AND  JOHN  P.  KUNZE,  INDICTED  FOR 
THE  MURDER  —  COMPLETE  EXPOSURE  OF  THE 
ATROCIOUS  CONSPIRACY. 

IT  would  require  volumes  to  record  the  details 
of  the  investigation  of  Dr.  Cronin's  murder  before 
the  coroner's  inquest,  and,  as  the  whole  matter  of 
the  damning  evidence  will  be  thoroughly  gone 
over  in  our  account  of  the  trial  of  the  parties 
charged  with  the  crime,  simply  a  summary  of 
the  facts  leading  up  to  their  indictment  will  be 
attempted  here. 

A  graphic  review  of  the  entire  case  from  the 
day  of  the  murder  to  the  beginning  of  the  trial  of 
the  indictments  for  the  crime  is  given  in  the  Inter 
Ocean  of  September  I.  From  that  review  the  fol- 
lowing account  is  taken: 

A  prominent  citizen  of  Chicago  is  called  out 
suddenly  on  what  is  represented  as  an  errand  of 
mercy.  When  he  arrives  at  his  destination,  all 
unconscious  of  the  horrible  fate  that  is  in  store  for 
him,  anxious  and  prepared  to  relieve  human  suf- 
fering, he  alights  in  front  of  a  lonesome  cottage  on 
the  outskirts  of  a  suburb,  and  hurriedly  enters  its 


THE   CRIME  TRACED   HOME  287 

portals,  from  which  he  only  issues  bruised  and 
mangled  and  murdered,  to  be  cast  into  a  foul- 
smelling  sewer. 

He  has  brought  his  case  of  surgical  instruments 
and  absorbent  cotton.  The  driver  of- the  buggy 
that  came  for  him  has  told  him  a  human  being  is 
suffering,  has  been  maimed,  and  is  in  need  of  pro- 
fessional attendance. 

He  answers  the  summons,  although  the  road  is 
long  and  his  business  engagements  pressing;  his 
fellow-man  has  called  for  aid,  and  Dr.  Cronin 
answers. 

He  mounts  the  steps  of  the  rendezvous,  has 
entered  the  door,  and,  in  a  moment  more,  he 
thinks,  will  be  relieving  human  pain.  But,  a  sec- 
ond later,  and  his  bleeding  corpse  lies  prone  on  the 
floor  of  the  Carlson  cottage. 

It  was  about  8:15  o'clock  in  the  evening  that 
Dr.  Cronin  arrived  at  the  cottage.  What  occurred 
from  then  till  9  o'clock,  when  his  dead  body  was 
removed  by  the  assassins  to  the  catch-basin,  is 
now  only  known  by  the  fiends  themselves,  and 
may,  perchance,  never  come  out. 

Next  to  the  triangle  itself,  Camp  20  of  the  Clan- 
na-Gael  is  thought  to  have  been  most  deeply 
implicated  in  the  murder  of  Cronin.  Indeed,  the 
State  avows  its  readiness  to  prove  this  fact.  In 
Camp  20  were  the  adherents  of  the  triangle,  of 
Alexander  Sullivan,  and  it  is  a  noteworthy  fact  in 
support  of  this  theory  that  four  of  the  prisoners 
now  on  trial,  the  four  who  are  thought  to  have 
been  among  the  actual  butchers,  are  members  of 


288  THE   GREAT   CRONIN    MYSTERY 

Camp  20,  one  of  their  number  having  been,  at  the 
time  of  the  murder,  at  the  very  head  of  the  noto- 
rious camp. 

Never,  for  a  day,  since  the  perpetration  of  the 
crime  has  the  popular  interest  in  the  efforts  of  the 
authorities  to  bring  the  conspirators  to  justice  been 
abated,  and,  now  that  four  of  the  supposed  mur- 
derers are  on  trial,  the  interest  is  stronger  than 
ever. 

The  triangle  has  unbounded  resources,  and  the 
defendants  have  been  supplied  with  some  of  the 
most  noted  criminal  lawyers  in  the  West.  The 
State,  too,  has  retained  the  services  of  three 
famous  lawyers  to  aid  its  prosecutor,  Judge  Joel  M. 
Longenecker. 

In  the  following  facts  regarding  the  five  notorious 
defendants  is  contained  the  thread  of  the  great 
tragedy  and  a  brief  review  of  its  unfolding: 

DANIEL    COUGHLIN,    NO.  94 

of  Camp  20,  is  generally  considered  to  have 
been  the  head  and  chieftain  of  the 
principals,  the  manager  of  the  plot 
to  murder  Dr.  Cronin.  His  hands 
are  thought  to  have  been  dyed 
deeper  in  the  blood  of  the  Irish 
patriot  than  any  others,  save  those 
of  the  fountainhead  of  the  conspir- 
acy. He  is  described  on  the  jail  DANIEL  COUGHLIN. 
books  as  follows: 

Arrived  —  May  27. 

Name  —  Daniel  Coughlin. 


THE    CRIME   TRACED    HOME  289 

Height — Six  feet,  one  inch. 

Weight  —  One  hundred  and  eighty-six  pounds. 

Color  of  hair  —  Light. 

Whiskers  —  Sandy  mustache. 

Eyes  —  Brown. 

Distinguishing  marks  —  Mole  on  right  cheek. 

Age  —  Thirty  years. 

Occupation  —  Police  officer. 

Birthplace  —  Hancock,  Michigan. 

Residence — No.  116  Jay  street. 

Charge —  Murder. 

Suspicion  pointed  very  strongly  to  Coughlin's 
complicity  in  the  murder  some  time  before  he  was 
apprehended.  At  ten  o'clock  Monday  morning 
following  the  fatal  Saturday,  May  4,  Liveryman 
Pat  Dinan  saw  Coughlin  and  Schaack.  Before 
Dinan  had  a  chance  to  tell  his  story  to  the  then 
Captain  of  the  East  Chicago  Avenue  Station, 
Coughlin  appealed  to  him  to  keep  still  and  say 
nothing  about  the  matter.  Dinan  was  not  to  be 
silenced,  however.  He  went  to  Schaack's  house 
and  told  him  the  story  of  Coughlin's  mysterious 
"  friend,"  Smith,  and  the  white  horse  and  top- 
buggy,  which  has  so  often  been  recited  heretofore, 
and  which  will  furnish  one  of  the  State's  strongest 
links  of  evidence  against  the  ex-detective. 

It  seems  that  Dinan  was  urged  to  tell  his  story 
by  his  wife.  One  night  Mrs.  Dinan  had  a  dream, 
in  which  she  saw  Dr.  Cronin  being  driven  in  her 
husband's  rig  toward  what  appeared  to  her  some 
awful  fate.  She  saw  the  doctor  raise  his  eyes  to 
her  appealingly  and  stretch  out  his  hands  as  though 

Cronin  Mystery  ig 


2QO  THE   GREAT    CRONIN   MYSTERY 

crying  for  help.  The  dream  made  such  a  strong 
impression  upon  her  that  she  insisted  that  her  hus- 
band should  at  once  tell  the  proper  authorities  all 
he  knew  of  the  hiring  of  the  white  horse. 

Mr.  Dinan  himself  was  no  sympathizer  with 
secret  assassination,  and  it  did  not  take  much  urg- 
ing to  induce  him  to  do  his  duty  in  the  matter. 

He  told  his  story  to  Captain  Schaack  Monday 
morning.  How  Coughlin  called  on  Saturday  and 
told  him  that  a  friend  would  call  for  a  horse  and 
buggy,  and  that  he  (Coughlin)  would  be  respon- 
sible for  it ;  how  the  stranger  came  that  evening  for 
the  rig ;  his  suspicious  actions  and  appearance,  and 
his  semi-disguised  make-up. 

Captain  Schaack,  it  will  be  remembered,  pooh- 
poohed  the  story  at  first,  and,  when  Dinan  insisted 
that  it  had  a  suspicious  bearing  on  the  mysterious 
disappearance  of  the  doctor,  he  promised  to  "  look 
it  up. " 

But  Dinan  was  not  satisfied  with  this.  He  went 
to  Chief  Hubbard,  and  told  him  the  strange  circum- 
stance of  the  white  horse. 

About  this  time  the  Annie  Murphy  story  got 
about.  She  claimed  to  have  seen  Dr.  Cronin  rid- 
ing in  a  south-bound  car  about  the  time  he  was 
being  murdered.  The  same  day,  May  10,  the  now 
infamous  reporter  Long  claimed  to  have  seen  Dr. 
Cronin  in  Toronto.  There  came  to  be  a  general 
belief  that  Dr.  Cronin  was  not  dead,  and  the  Inter 
Ocean,  of  all  the  great  dailies,  clung  to  the  belief 
that  the  Irish  patriot  had  been  foully  murdered. 

Captain  Schaack  did  not,  as  he  promised,  inves- 


THE   CRIME   TRACED    HOME  291 

tigate  properly  Pat  Dinan's  story,  and  it  was  not 
till  May  25,  three  days  after  the  finding  of  the  body, 
that  Dan  Coughlin  was  locked  up  at  the  Armory 
Police  Court,  more  as  an  important  witness  than  a 
criminal. 

That  same  day  reporter  Beck  drove  the  white 
horse  and  rig  up  to  the  Conklin  residence  and  had 
it  completely  and  positively  identified  by  Mrs.  T. 
T.  Conklin  and  Frank  Scanlan. 

On  the  day  previous,  May  24,  the  Carlson  cot- 
tage had  been  discovered,  and  from  then  on  devel- 
opments were  rapid  and  startling,  so  that  on  May 
27  sufficient  proof  had  been  adduced  to  warrant 
JohnJ.  Cronin,  brother  of  the  murdered  doctor,  in 
swearing  out  a  State  warrant  against  Dan  Coughlin, 
charging  him  with  murder,  and  that  evening,  about: 
eleven  o'clock,  in  company  with  his  counsel,  W.  S. 
Forrest,  Captain  Bartram,  and  two  special  officers, 
and  half  a  dozen  reporters,  the  ex-detective  was 
driven  in  a  patrol  wagon  to  the  jail,  from  which, 
there  is  a  general  impression,  he  will  only  escape 
at  the  cost  of  his  life. 

Space  cannot  here  be  given  to  a  review  of  all 
the  evidence  against  this  prisoner.  Suffice  it  to 
recite  that  he  is  deemed  by  the  State  to  have  been 
the  general  manager  and  director  of  the  whole  foul 
plot  to  murder  Dr.  Cronin.  Milkman  Mertzes,  who 
resides  in  the  immediate  neighborhood  of  the  Carl- 
son cottage,  saw  him  enter  that  abode  of  tragedy 
and  assassination  about  eight  o'clock  on  the  evening 
of  May  4.  He  has  been  known  to  make  threats 
against  the  life  of  Dr.  Cronin,  and  it  is  in  testimony 


2Q2  THE   GREAT   CRONIN   MYSTERY 

that  he  offered  "  Major"  Sampson  $100  to  kill  Dr. 
Cronin. 

Since  the  investigation  of  the  coroner's  jury  much 
new  and  damaging  evidence  has  been  discovered 
against  Coughlin,  which  proves  conclusively  that, 
next  to  the  triangle,  he  was  the  ringleader  of  the 
murderous  gang. 

Throughout  the  plot  Coughlin  seems  to  have 
worked  very  quietly.  In  every  instance,  save  that 
of  the  hiring  of  the  buggy  and  the  perpetration  of 
the  murder  itself,  he  has  had  his  dupes  and 
stool-pigeons,  whom  he  deluded  into  doing  what 
he  feared  to  do  himself.  It  seems  to  have  been  his 
aim  to  remain  in  the  background  almost  as  much 
as  did  his  paymaster. 

Coughlin  is  an  old  friend  of  Alexander  Sullivan, 
and  through  the  influence  of  the  latter  he  secured 
his  position  on  the  police  force.  Though  not  a 
professional  criminal  in  the  legal  meaning,  he  is  in 
fact  a  hardened  villain,  having  been  implicated  in 
numerous  crooked  and  illegal  transactions,  and, 
should  he  by  any  chance  miscarriage  of  justice 
escape  his  present  predicament,  he  will  be  indicted 
and  tried  for  blowing  up  the  Shufeldt  distillery  with 
dynamite. 

PATRICK   O'SULLIVAN,    NO.    356, 

of  Camp  20,  was  cast,  not  unwillingly,  it  appears, 
for  the  part  of  Judas  Iscariot  in  the  tragedy  of 
the  murder  of  Dr.  P.  H.  Cronin.  The  Lake  View 
iceman,  of  all  those  concerned  in  the  plot,  was 
the  friend  and  patron  of  his  victim.  Prior  to  his 


THE   CRIME   TRACED    HOME 


293 
Jail  Clerk 


arrest  he  was  known  as  P.  O.  Sullivan. 
Ben  Price  has  this  account  of  him; 

Arrived — May  28. 

Name — Patrick  O'Sullivan. 

Height — Five  feet  eleven  inches. 

Weight — One  hundred  and  thirty-nine  pounds. 

Color  of  Hair — Brown. 


Whiskers — Sandy  mustache. 
Eyes — Blue. 

Distinguishing  Marks — Light  complexion  ;    stiff 
and  crooked  finger  on  left  hand  ;  scar  on  each  knee. 
Age — Thirty-one  years. 
Occupation — Ice  business. 
Birthplace — Galena,  Illinois. 
Residence — Roscoe  and  Bosworth  avenues. 
Charge — Murder. 


294  THE   GREAT  CRONIN   MYSTERY 

Without  noting  the  positive  evidence  which  it  is 
thought  the  State  possesses  against  this  man,  there 
are  a  number  of  highly  suspicious  circumstances, 
which,  if  they  can  in  the  slightest  degree  be  sub- 
stantiated by  other  circumstantial  evidence,  appear 
to  be  strong  enough  to  secure  his  conviction. 
Among  them  is  his  peculiar  contract  with  Dr. 
Cronin.  That  O'Sullivan,  doing  a  small  business 
in  retailing  ice  in  an  out-of-the-way  locality,  at  that 
time  out  of  the  city  limits,  and  employing  only  four 
men,  should  agree  to  pay  a  doctor  a  yearly  salary 
of  $50,  for  no  other  purpose  than  to  attend  any  of 
his  men  who  might  be  hurt,  is  in  itself  an  almost 
inexplicable  circumstance,  more  especially  when  it 
is  considered  that  O'Sullivan  was  neither  a  practical 
nor  a  theoretical  philanthropist,  but  a  hard,  cold 
business  man.  Men  in  the  same  business  who 
employ  fifty  hands  do  not  think  it  incumbent  on 
them  to  regularly  employ  a  physician. 

But  granting,  for  the  sake  of  argument,  that  the 
iceman  was  a  humanitarian,  was  it  humanity  that 
sent  him  six  miles  away  from  his  home  and  his 
business  to  employ  Dr.  Cronin?  The  proposition 
is  absurd,  and,  to  cut  a  long  story  short,  the  State 
believes  in  its  ability  to  prove  to  the  jury  that 
O'Sullivan  patronized  Dr.  Cronin  for  the  purpose 
of  luring  him  to  his  death. 

That  this  prisoner  was  implicated  in  the  plot  to 
murder  Cronin  is  shown,  too,  by  the  fact  that  he 
stood  sponsor  for  Martin  Burke  when  the  elder 
Carlson  asked  as  to  his  reliability.  O'Sullivan  said 
to  Carlson,  referring  to  Burke,  alias  Williams: 


THE  CRIME   TRACED  HOME 

"  He's  all  right.  I  know  him  and  his  brother,  and 
will  be  responsible  for  the  rent." 

Burke,  then  Williams,  made  frequent  trips  be- 
tween the  Carlson  cottage  and  the  residence  of  the 
iceman.  The  two  were  seen  frequently  together. 
In  fact,  O'Sullivan's  house  and  barn  seemed  to  have 
been  the  rendezvous  for  the  whole  gang  of  mur- 
derers. When  they  were  not  in  the  Carlson  cot- 
tage, they  could  usually  be  found  at  O'Sullivan's. 

When  Burke  rented  the  Carlson  cottage  he  told 
its  landlord  that  he  was  going  to  work  for  "  the  ice- 
man over  there,"  pointing  to  O'Sullivan's  place. 

The  State  expects,  also,  to  prove  that  O'Sullivan 
was  one  of  the  principals  in  the  actual  assassination 
of  Dr.  Cronin;  that  he  was  in  the  Carlson  cottage  on 
the  night  of  May  4,  between  seven  and  nine  o'clock; 
that  he  aided  in  disposing  of  the  body  in  the 
catch-basin;  and  that  the  can  of  paint  which  was 
used  to  cover  up  the  blood-stains  came  from  his 
house.  As  tending  to  this  latter  fact,  it  has  only 
recently  been  noticed  that  the  high  white  fence  on 
the  north  side  of  O'Sullivan's  house  is  daubed  in 
one  or  two  places  with  the  same  kind  of  paint  as 
used  on  the  floor  of  the  cottage.  The  police,  it 
is  claimed,  found  an  almost  empty  can  of  brown 
paint  in  O'Sullivan's  house  just  after  his  arrest. 

It  is  now  pretty  well  established  that  O'Sullivan's 
four  employes  were  as  deep  in  the  plot  as  their  boss, 
and  were,  indeed,  hired  by  the  iceman  simply  for 
their  pliability  and  their  willingness  to  be  employed 
in  his  hellish  undertaking,  and  the  authorities  are 


296  THE   GREAT   CRONIN    MYSTERY 

now  sorry  that  they  did  not  throw  out  a  drag-net 
and  bring  them  all  in. 

At  various  times  since  his  arrest  he  has  been  on 
the  verge  of  making  a  clean  breast  of  it,  and  throw- 
ing himself  upon  the  State  for  mercy.  This  incli- 
nation, however,  has  been  staved  off  by  the  differ- 
ent lawyers  for  the  defense,  who  have  represented 
to  him  that  he  stood  in  no  danger  of  a  conviction, 
as  the  State  had  no  case  against  any  of  the  prison- 
ers, as  long  as  they  kept  their  mouths  closed.  He 
has  also  been  deterred  from  "squealing"  —  and 
this  is  thought  to  be  the  principal  reason  —  by  the 
wife  of  his  cousin,  Mrs.  Tom  Whelan,  who  kept 
house  for  him  and  his  cousin  before  O'Sullivan's 
arrest.  She  was  until  recently  allowed  to  see  the 
prisoner  at  least  once  a  day,  often  twice  or  three 
times  in  a  single  day.  It  is  thought  she  had  the 
strongest  influence  over  the  iceman,  and  that  she 
used  it  in  furtherance  of  the  needs  of  the  triangle. 

In  his  argument  for  a  separate  trial  for  his  client, 
Coughlin,  Judge  Wing  practically  admitted  that  the 
State  had  a  pretty  serious  case  against  O'Sullivan, 
and  based  his  reasons  for  a  severance  on  that  fact. 
It  is  the  prevailing  impression  that  the  Judas 
Iscariot  of  the  plot  will  be  convicted  and  suffer  the 
death  penalty  for  conspiring  to  murder  Dr.  Cronin. 

JOHN   F.    BEGGS,  NO.  256, 

the  ex-Senior  Guardian  of  Camp  20,  is  not  a  stranger 
to  iron  bars  and  prison  walls.  His  record  has  been 
of  the  very  worst.  At  the  head  of  what  is  now 
known  as  "  Murderer's  Roost,"  he  very  fairly  rep- 


THE   CRIME   TRACED    HOME 


297 


JOHN   F.  BEGGS. 


resented    a    very    considerable    contingency    of  its 
membership.     The  registry  says  of  him  : 

Arrived — July  I. 

Name — John  F.  Beggs. 

Height — Five  feet  eight  and  a 
half  inches. 

Weight — One  hundred  and  forty- 
nine  pounds. 

Color  of  Hair  —  Light. 

Whiskers — Light  mustache. 

Eyes — Gray. 

Age — Thirty-seven  years. 

Occupation  —  Lawyer. 

Birthplace — Lowell,  Mass. 

Residence  —  No.  417  West  Madison  street. 

Charge  —  Murder 

As  Senior  Guardian  of  the  notorious  Camp  20, 
Beggs  appointed  a  secret  committee  of  the  camp  to 
"  remove "  Cronin.  It  was  in  the  early  part  of 
February  that  the  "  trial  "  of  Dr.  Cronin  for  reading 
the  minority  report  of  the  executive  committee  of 
the  Clan-na-Gael  which  tried  Alexander  Sullivan 
began  to  be  agitated  in  Camp  20.  The  details  of 
this  phase  of  the  plot  have  been  fully  printed,  and 
it  now  only  remains  to  say  thut  Beggs  was  author- 
ized by  his  camp  to  appoint  a  committee  to  try 
Cronin,  and  that  about  a  week  before  the  hiring  of 
the  Clark  street  flat  by  Dan  Coughlin's  tool,  J.  B. 
Simonds  (still  at  large),  the  trial  committee  was 
appointed. 

At  the  time  none  but  those  appointed  and  Beggs 
himself  knew  the  personality  of  the  trial  committee. 


298  THE   GREAT   CRONIN   MYSTERY 

A  secret  ballot  had  been  taken,  and  the  result 
announced  in  secret  to  the  Senior  Guardian  by  the 
Secretary,  but,  as  was  the  custom  in  such  cases,  the 
Senior  Guardian  appointed  whom  he  pleased,  and 
no  one  was  the  wiser.  As  each  man  left  the  room 
that  night  he  was  handed  a  slip  of  paper,  which  he 
did  not  unfold  and  examine  until  he  got  outside  and 
alone.  All  but  five  received  blanks,  and  three  of 
these  five  who  had  crosses  or  some  other  sign  on 
their  slips  of  paper  were  Daniel  Coughlin,  Patrick 
Cooney,  and  Martin  Burke,  Beggs  keeping  a 
.marked  slip  for  himself.  The  names  of  all  those 
on  the  trial  committee  are  now  in  the  possession  of 
the  State's  Attorney,  together  with  the  books  and 
records  of  the  camp. 

The  evidence  against  Beggs  is  much  stronger 
than  is  generally  known.  When  Camp  20  author- 
ized its  Senior  Guardian  to  appoint  the  "  trial  com- 
mittee," Beggs  began  to  get  frightened.  He  knew 
what  the  full  significance  of  the  "  trial  committee  " 
meant  much  more  than  did  many  of  the  dupes  of  the 
triangle  who  voted  for  it.  He  knew  that  it  meant 
the  murder  of  Dr.  Cronin.  In  his  fear  of  the  conse- 
quences of  such  an  act,  he  tried  to  shirk  the  respon- 
sibility of  the  crime. 

He  wrote  to  Edward  Spellman,  of  Peoria,  the 
district  officer  of  the  United  Brotherhood,  or  Clan- 
na-gael,  asking  him  to  appoint  the  trial  committee. 

Spellman  wrote  back:  "  Read  your  constitution. 
It  authorizes  the  Senior  Guardian  to  appoint  the 
trial  committees. " 

"  Beggs  made  a  further  plea,  "  But  there  is  an  un- 


THE   CRIME   TRACED    HOME  299 

written  law  of  the  order  as  well  as  a  written  law, 
and,  according  to  the  first,  it  devolves  on  you  to  ap- 
point this  committee.  The  risk  is  too  great  for  me, 
and  I  will  not  assume  it." 

But  Spellman,  who,  perhaps,  did  not  comprehend 
the  full  significance  of  the  trial  committee,  in  this 
instance,  flatly  refused  to  be  Beggs'tool.  He  would 
abide  by  the  constitution. 

Beggs  still  faltered  and  quaked.  About  this  time, 
it  is  said  on  good  authority,  Beggs  had  frequent 
meetings  with  Alexander  Sullivan,  sometimes  at  the 
latter's  office,  but  oftener  at  his  residence.  There- 
suit  of  these  conferences  with  the  chief  triangler 
seemed  to  strengthen  Beggs,  and,  when  the  time 
came,  he  was  able  to  appoint  the  trial  committee. 

This  correspondence  which  passed  between  Beggs 
and  Spellman  regarding  the  trial  committee,  is  now 
in  the  possession  of  the  State's  Attorney,  as  is  also 
Beggs'  quarterly  report  to  the  district  officer,  in 
which  he  declares  that  the  trial  committee  was 
appointed,  had  reported  to  him,  and  that  he  could 
answer  for  him  that  their  "  work  "  was  well  done. 

Another  point  which  the  State  expects  to  prove 
against  Beggs  is  that  he  took  the  box  containing 
the  clothes  of  Dr.  Cronin  from  Martin  Burke  and 
carried  them  to  Starkey  and  Ronayne,  in  New  York, 
whence  they  were  to  be  sent  to  Montreal  in  time  to 
be  transported  by  Burke  to  Europe. 

Beggs  bears  an  unsavory  reputation  outside  of 
hisconnection  with  the  Cronin  murder,  having  been 
convicted  of  a  felony  in  Ohio,  and  made  to  serve  a 
term  in  the  Ohio  penitentiary.  He  has  been  a  big- 


300  THE   GREAT    CRONIN   MYSTERY 

amist,  or,  at  least,  what  amounts  to  one  morally, 
and  his  petty  frauds  and  larcenies  in  this  city  have 
been  numerous  and  very  annoying  to  his  victims. 
Beggs  is  only  a  triangler  for  what  there  is  in  it,  and 
the  indications  are  at  present  that  he,  and  others  of 
his  confreres,  will  shortly  discover  that  there  is  a  great 
deal  more  in  being  a  triangler  than  they  ever  dreamed 
of.  But  this  knowledge,  it  is  thought,  will  come  to 
Beggs  too  late  in  life  to  be  of  much  avail  to  him 
unless  he  turns  state's  evidence  and  helps  the  State 
to  unearth  his  paymaster. 

MARTIN  BURKE,  NO.   332, 

of  Camp  20,  was  the  last  of  the  Cronin  prisoners 
to  be  lodged  in  the  County  Jail.  He  writes  his  last 
name  "  Bourke. "  When  arrested 
he  was  sailing  under  the  name  of 
Delaney.  By  reason  of  the  lengthy 
extradition  proceedings  over  this 
prisoner,  he  is  the  most  conspicuous 
of  the  murderers  now  on  trial. 
His  extradition  and  transportation 
cost  the  State,  county  and  munici- 
pal authorities  upward  of  $5,000. 
The  j ail  register  describes  him  thus : 

Arrived  —  Aug.  8. 

Name  —  Martin  Burke  alias  Delaney,  alias 
Williams 

Height  —  Five  feet  eleven  and  one-half  inches. 

Weight —  One  hundred  and  seventy-two  pounds. 

Color  of  hair  —  Brown 


THE   CRIME   TRACED   HOME  3OI 

Whiskers  —  Smooth  face. 

Eyes  —  Blue. 

Distinguishing  marks  —  Knife  scar  under  right 
eye. 

Age  —  Twenty-six  years. 

Occupation  —  Laborer. 

Birthplace  —  County  Mayo,  Ireland. 

Residence  —  No.  37  East  Erie  street. 

Charge  —  Murder. 

The  history  of  the  flight  of  Martin  Burke,  alias 
Delaney,  the  "  Frank  Williams  "  of  the  plot;  the 
history  of  his  capture  by  Chief  of  Police  McRae, 
of  Winnipeg,  and  of  his  subsequent  extradition,  is 
still  fresh  in  the  mind  of  every  one. 

He  was  arrested  while  en  route  to  Europe,  via 
Montreal,  June  17,  three  days  after  Alexander  Sul- 
livan was  released  from  jail.  June  19  Burke  was 
indicted  by  the  special  grand  jury. 

The  State  is  confident  of  its  ability  to  prove  that 
Burke  was  one  of  the  actual  perpetrators  of  the 
crime,  one  whose  hands  are  stained  red  by  the 
murder  of  the  Irish  patriot. 

March  20,  under  the  name  of  Frank  Williams, 
he  rented  the  Carlson  cottage,  No.  1872  Ashland 
avenue.  Previous  to  this  he  had  been  seen  in  the 
Clark  street  flat  in  company  with  Cooney,  the  J.  B. 
Simondsof  the  tragedy.  March  22  Burke  engaged 
expressman  Martensen  to  carry  the  furniture  from 
the  Clark  street  flat  to  the  Carlson  cottage.  Mar- 
tensen has  proved  the  best  of  State's  witnesses, 
having  identified  Burke  completely,  and  without  a 
moment's  hesitation,  at  Winnipeg. 


302  THE   GREAT   CRONIN   MYSTERY 

The  reason  Martensen  has  been  able  to  identify 
Burke  so  completely  is  because,  after  the  furniture 
had  been  hauled  to  the  Carlson  cottage  and  the 
expressman  asked  for  his  pay,  a  dispute  arose  as  to 
the  proper  amount  that  was  due  him.  The  two 
had  hot  words  together,  which  enabled  Martensen 
to  fix  Burke  in  his  memory. 

When  Burke  rented  the  cottage,  he  told  his  land- 
lord, that  he  and  his  brother  and  sister  were  going 
to  keep  house  there.  The  sister  was  in  Indiana, 
at  the  time,  sick,  but  expected  to  be  well  enough  to 
come  on  very  shortly.  Burke  also  said  that  he  and 
his  brother  were  to  be  engaged  by  iceman  O'Sul- 
livan. 

Old  man  Carlson  soon  grew  suspicious  of  his 
tenants,  because,  though  the  house  was  tenanted, 
he  could  see  no  signs  of  a  domestic  life,  and  the 
tenants  came  and  went  chiefly  at  night  time,  the 
blinds  were  closed  tightly  most  of  the  time,  and 
the  sister  did  not  materialize.  Carlson  remarked 
to  his  neighbors  the  curious  character  of  his  tenants, 
and  before  long,  every  one  in  the  neighborhood  was 
asking  each  other  who  the  mysterious  strangers 
could  be,  and  what  their  occupations. 

April  20,  Williams,  or  Burke,  paid  his  second 
month's  rent,  in  advance,  and  from  then  on,  till  the 
fateful  night  of  May  4,  the  plotters  visited  the  cot- 
tage frequently.  It  seems  that  Burke  and  Cooney 
lived  at  the  cottage  up  till  the  night  of  the  murder, 
taking  their  meals  at  O'Sullivan's.  Coughlin,  P. 
O'Sullivan,  and  others  of  the  conspirators  were  fre- 
quent callers  on  the  "  Williams  brothers,"  though 


THE   CRIME  TRACED  HOME  303 

the  neighbors  noted  with  awe  and  suspicion  that 
their  visits  were  always  timed  after  dark. 

In  the  eyes  of  the  law  the  subsequent  flight  of 
Burke  argues  strongly  for  his  guilt,  and  this  fact, 
coupled  with  the  strong  evidence  the  State  is  pre- 
pared to  adduce  against  him,  makes  his  chances 
for  acquittal  the  slimmest  of  any  of  the  defendants. 
On  the  other  hand,  he  has  from  the  very  start 
been  looked  upon  as  the  squealer,  and  it  would  not 
be  surprising  to  see  him  appear  as  a  State's  witness 
before  the  trial  is  half  over. 

Burke  did  not  arrive  in  Chicago  until  the  even- 
ing of  August  5th.  Immediately  upon  his  arrival 
his  triangular  friends  began  to  bolster  up  his  fast- 
failing  courage,  and  he  is  now  in  receipt  of  three 
good  warm  meals  a  day  from  a  North  Clark  street 
restaurant.  He  is  being  made  the  pet  of  the  tri- 
angle, who  apparently  fear  him  more  than  any  of 
the  others. 

As  is  pretty  well  known,  one  of  the  important 
witnesses  against  Burke  will  be  Gustav  Klahre,  a 
young  tinsmith,  who,  on  May  6,  soldered  up  a  big 
metal  box  which  is  supposed  to  have  contained  the 
clothes  worn  by  Dr.  Cronin  the  night  he  was  mur- 
dered. Burke  brought  the  box  to  the  tinsmith  in 
one  of  O'Sullivan's  ice-wagons,  it  is  thought,  and 
accompanied  by  one  of  the  iceman's  employes. 

The  police  do  not  believe  the  box  was  brought 
by  O'Sullivan's  wagon,  but  by  an  ordinary  express- 
man, for  whom  they  are  still  supposed  to  be  search- 
ing. The  other  theory,  however,  is  the  more 
probable  of  the  two,  as  the  box  must  have  been 


304  THE   GREAT    CRONIN   MYSTERY 

brought  to  the  tinsmith  from  the  Carlson  cottage. 
At  any  rate,  both  theories  are  being  worked  for  all 
they  are  worth,  which  is  considerable,  and  it  is 
thought  the  whereabouts  and  contents  of  the  box 
will  be  capable  of  positive  proof  by  the  time  the 
State  is  ready  for  the  evidence. 

JOHN    KUNZE 

is  the  only  one  of  the  Cronin  suspects  now  on  trial 
who  is  not  of  Irish  extraction.  In  a  recent  letter 
to  the  press  he  confesses  to  having  been 
foolish,  but  thanks  heaven  that  he 
never  told  a  lie.  In  all  the  dark  hid- 
eousness  of  the  Cronin  tragedy,  his  is 
j the  one  humorous,  low-comedy  part, 
now  that  Woodruff  is,  for  the  present, 
eliminated  from  the  proceedings. 
Kunze's  part  in  the  crime,  so  far  as  is  known,  con- 
sists in  having  driven  Dan  Coughlinto  the  Carlson 
cottage  on  the  evening  of  the  murder.  He  is 
known  to  have  been  a  warm  friend  of  the  ex-detect- 
ive, and  was  implicated  in  the  blowing  up  of  the 
Shufeldt  distillery.  His  record  as  a  petty  thief  and 
swindler  is  bad,  as  many  of  his  old  acquaintances  in 
Lake  View  can  testify. 

Prior  to  his  arrest  he  assumed  the  alias  of  John 
Kogel,  to  escape  from  the  importunities  of  his 
friend  Coughlin,  he  says. 

June  2Qth,  when  the  grand  jury  returned  an  indict- 
ment against  Kunze,  the  entire  city  was  taken  by 
surprise.  That  a  German  could  have  been  impli- 
cated in  the  murder  of  Dr.  Cronin  was  beyond  imme- 


THE   CRIME   TRACED    HOME  305 

diate  belief,  and  it  was  not  until  July  1st,  when  Kunze 
was  arrested  and  locked  up,  that  most  people  could 
comprehend  the  situation.  From  first  to  last  the 
evidence  against  Kunze  has  been  kept  a  close 
secret,  and  it  is  generally  thought  that  the  State  has 
a  surprise  in  store  for  everybody  when  it  comes  to 
make  out  a  case  against  the  gay  Luxemberger. 

Kunze  is  the  dude  of  the  conspiracy.  When  in 
court  he  smiles  and  nods  his  head  in  the  most  fool- 
ish manner,  and  carries  on  generally  as  the  ideal 
empty-pated  dude  is  popularly  supposed  to  deport 
itself. 

No  one  has  yet  thought  him  of  enough  impor- 
tance to  refer  to  him,  and  during  the  proceedings  in 
the  case  thus  far  his  name  has  only  been  mentioned 
in  the  most  casual  and  perfunctory  way,  if  the 
motion  of  his  lawyers  for  a  memorandum  of  the  evi- 
dence against  him  be  a  criterion. 

Kunze  is  not  a  member  of  Camp  20,  and  Ben 
Price,  of  the  County  Jail,  did  not  deem  him  of 
enough  importance  to  record  his  official  description, 
hence  it  cannot  be  accurately  given  here: 

His  height  is  about  five  feet  five  inches;  his  com- 
plexion light,  hair  blonde,  with  slight  blonde  mus- 
tache. His  face  has  rather  a  foolish  expression, 
his  cheekbones  and  his  ears  being  its  most  promi- 
nent features.  About  twenty-three  years  of  age, 
he  is  said  to  be  an  illegitimate  son  of  a  mother 
whose  husband  was  confined  in  an  insane  asylum 
in  Germany.  He  claims  to  have  been  born  in 
Luxumburg,  though  the  Luxumburgers  of  the  North 
Side  indignantly  deny  this. 

Cronin  Mystery  20 


306       THE  GREAT  CRONIN  MYSTERY 

About  two  years  ago  he  worked  in  the  furniture 
factory  of  A.  H.  Revell  &  Co.  for  about  ten  months 
or  more.  He  left  there,  as  he  claimed,  to  attend  to 
his  recently  acquired  inheritance.  This  was  his 
favorite  story,  and  he  succeeded  in  "  working  "  a 
great  many  of  his  confiding  countrymen  by  telling 
them  of  his  wonderful  inheritance. 

The  indictments  against  Woodruff,  Coughlin  and 
O'Sullivan  were  returned  into  court  May  29th,  and 
those  of  Beggs,  Burke,  and  Kunze  soon  followed. 
Ever  since  the  finding  of  the  indictments,  it  has 
been  very  manifest  that  the  defendants,  with  per- 
haps the  exception  of  Woodruff,  were  being 
strongly  backed  up  with  friends  and  money  in 
their  fight  with  the  people  for  their  lives.  The 
best  legal  talent  that  could  be  obtained  for  money 
was  secured  in  their  behalf,  and  they  have  waged  a 
vigorous  warfare  against  every  effort  of  the  prose- 
cution to  bring  them  to  a  speedy  and  fair  trial  on 
their  indictments  for  murder.  Detectives  have 
been  employed  to  "  shadow  "  the  detectives  who 
were  working  up  the  case  in  behalf  of  the  State, 
false  reports  have  been  spread  broadcast  concern- 
ing the  character  of  Dr.  Cronin,  and  everything 
that  money  and  cunning  could  do  has  been  done 
to  hinder  the  officers  of  the  law  in  the  performance 
of  their  duties,  and  to  obstruct  the  due  administra- 
tion of  justice. 

When  the  five  defendants,  Burke,  Beggs,  Q'Sul- 
livan  and  Kunze,  were  arraigned  for  trial,  their 
lawyers  exhausted  every  means  known  to  their 
profession  to  prevent  the  State  from  securing  a 


THE   CRIME   TRACED   HOME  307 

jury  not  made  up  of  men  known  to  be  friendly  to 
the  prisoners,  or  in  sympathy  with  the  triangle 
conspirators.  The  sequel  will  prove  with  what 
measure  of  success  their  efforts  were  crowned. 


308  THE   GREAT  CRONIN   MYSTERY. 


CHAPTER  XXVII. 

A  STARTLING  CHANGE  OF  SCENE  —  NEW  PLOT 
TO  DEFEAT  THE  ENDS  OF  JUSTICE  —  ATTEMPT 
TO  BRIBE  MEN  WHO  WERE  "  FIXED  "  TO  BE 
ON  THE  JURY  —  COURT  OFFICIALS  IMPLICATED, 
ARRESTED  AND  IMPRISONED  —  FAILURE  OF  THE 
SUB-CONSPIRACY. 

ON  the  twenty-seventh  day  of  the  wearisome 
struggle  to  obtain  a  jury  in  the  Cronin  case,  a 
strange  interruption  to  the  regular  order  of  court 
proceedings  took  place. 

At  the  opening  of  the  court  the  counsel  for  the 
State  were  not  present,  nor  did  they  appear  for 
considerable  time.  Then  the  judge  was  called 
away,  and  spectators  waited  with  breathless  impa- 
tience for  the  new  developments  they  felt  were  to 
come. 

Soon  they  were  enlightened.  Proof  positive  was 
presented  that  sworn  bailiffs  of  the  court  had  ap- 
proached certain  men,  telling  them  that  it  had  been 
arranged  that  they  were  to  be  summoned  among  the 
special  veniremen  for  forming  the  jury.  Money, 
hundreds  and  thousands  of  dollars,  was  offered 
these  men  if  they  would  "  stand  out "  for  the 
acquittal  of  the  accused,  and,  if  it  were  impossible  to 
clear  them  of  the  charges,  at  least  bring  about  a 
"  hung  "  jury. 

They,  these  specially  selected  men  for  jury  duty, 
were  to  be  taught  exactly  how  to  answer  the  ques- 


A   STARTLING    CHANGE   OF   SCENE  309 

tions  that  would  be  asked  them  when  their  qualifi- 
cations were  being  passed  upon  to  determine  the 
fact  of  their  competency  to  sit  as  jurors  in  the  trial 
of  the  case. 

The  determined  energy  with  which  the  officers  of 
the  law,  urged  to  their  duty  by  popular  outcry,  had 
carried  forward  the  work  of  ferreting  out  and  bring- 
ing to  account  the  perpetrators  of  Dr.  Cronin's 
murder,  at  last  made  necessary  a  second  conspiracy* 
which  was  to  cheat  justice  by  corrupting  the  agents 
of  justice. 

It  was  evident  from  the  first  that  every  scheme, 
however  dishonorable,  that  might  operate  to  save 
the  suspects  from  hanging,  would  be  employed  by 
the  defense  ;  and  it  was  strongly  suspected,  when 
a  persistent  demand  for  special  bailiffs  was  made, 
that  the  purpose  was  to  hamper  the  State  in  the 
selection  of  an  honest  and  intelligent  jury.  Few 
imagined,  though,  that  a  plan  was  devised  for 
buying  one  or  more  jurors  to  secure  the  acquittal 
of  the  defendants.  The  names  involved  in  the  con- 
spiracy, as  revealed  by  the  prosecution,  indicate  the 
extent  and  magnitude  of  the  infamous  influence  at 
work  to  keep  clear  of  the  halter  the  necks  of  the 
men  indicted  for  the  murder  of  Dr.  Cronin. 

This  bribery  conspiracy  was  met  and  handled  by 
the  State's  Attorney  with  that  vigor  of  determina- 
tion which  has  characterized  his  conduct  of  the  case 
from  the  very  beginning  —  actions,  which  said 
plainer  than  words  could  express  it,  "  Justice  shall 
be  done,  though  the  heavens  fall,  I  shall  hew  to  the 
line,  let  the  chips  fall  where  they  may." 


310  THE   GREAT    CRONIN    MYSTERY 

Through  the  manliness  and  integrity  of  George  S. 
Tschappat,  one  of  the  veniremen  whom  the  agents 
of  the  triangle  had  tried  to  bribe,  the  first  clew  was 
given  to  the  State's  Attorney.  By  the  vigorous  and 
aggressive  action  which  followed  within  thirty-six 
hours  the  whole  plot  was  laid  bare,  and  six  of  the 
principals  were  arrested,  indicted,  and  are  now  in 
the  County  Jail  awaiting  trial  for  jury  bribing. 
They  are: 

ALEXANDER  L.  HANKS, 

MARK  SALOMON, 

FRED  W.  SMITH, 

THOMAS  KAVANAUGH, 

JEREMIAH  O'DONNELL, 

JOSEPH  KONEN. 

Hanks  and  Salomon  were  both  bailiffs  in  the 
Criminal  Court,  and,  by  reason  of  their  official  con- 
nection with  the  court,  were  enabled  to  act  their 
perfidious  parts  with  advantage  to  their  employe's, 
the  triangle.  Bailiff  Hanks  was  in  possession  of 
one  of  the  triangle  lists  of  corruptible  jurors  which 
the  Inter  Ocean  some  weeks  ago  declared  were 
being  made  out  for  this  purpose. 

Fred  W.  Smith  was  a  manufacturer's  agent  at 
Nos.  135  and  137  Lake  street.  Thomas  Kava- 
naugh,  known  as  the  "  prominent  citizen  "  of  the 
case,  turns  out  to  have  been  a  triangler  from  away 
back,  and  is  a  member  of  Larry  Buckley's  camp, 
No.  135,  a  camp  of  the  United  Brotherhood  of  the 
I.  N.  B. ,  or  triangle  stripe.  He  has  been  suspect- 
ed of  being  the  badly  wanted  Simonds.  He  suc- 
ceeded in  having  his  partner,  Brown,  called  on  the 


A   STARTLING   CHANGE    OF   SCENE  311 

venire.  Alexander  Sullivan  was  the  attorney  for 
his  firm.  Joseph  Conen  is  a  fruiterer  at  No.  240 
West  Madison  street.  He  was  simply  a  seeker 
after  dollars. 

Thursday  afternoon  a  prominent  citizen  of  Chi- 
cago entered  the  court-room  and  very  privately 
communicated  to  the  counsel  for  the  State  that  his 
foreman,  who  had  been  summoned  on  the  jury  be- 
fore being  called  to  the  jury-box,  had  been  ap- 
proached by  a  bailiff  of  the  court  with  an  offer  of 
$1,000  to  vote  for  the  acquittal  of  the  defendants. 

The  result  of  this  statement  was  a  conference  at 
the  State's  Attorney's  office  of  all  the  lawyers  for  the 
State.  The  bailiff  referred  to  by  the  venireman  was 
called  in,  and  at  first  professed  ignorance  of  all  per- 
taining to  the  charge,  but,  upon  being  faced  by  the 
venireman  and  hearing  him  repeat  his  story,  he 
fully  confessed  everything,  and  implicated  several 
prominent  persons  and  also  another  bailiff.  The 
name  of  the  venireman  is  George  S.  Tschappat,  the 
foreman  for  the  firm  of  E.  V.  Page  &  Co.,  oil 
merchants,  Nos.  44  to  54  Erie  street.  Six  to  ten 
confessions  followed  the  bailiff's,  that  reveal,  as  At- 
torney Luther  Laflin  Mills  says,  "  a  most  damnable 
organization  against  the  law  of  the  land,  a  conspir- 
acy against  the  jurisprudence  of  this  country  that 
will  startle  the  continent  when  it  is  thoroughly 
known  —  a  conspiracy  of  ramifications,  of  audacity, 
a  conspiracy  involving  men  whose  names  will  be  a 
surprise  to  the  country.  It  is  no  exaggeration  when 
I  say  that  you  cannot  magnify  the  damnable  out- 
rage of  this  conspiracy.  In  the  taking  off  of  Dr. 


312  THE   GREAT   CRONIN   MYSTERY 

Cronin  and  the  manner  in  which  it  was  done,  the 
whole  world  was  startled.  This  second  conspiracy 
will  alike  startle  the  whole  world.  It  is  an  assault 
on  the  very  integrity  of  our  institutions." 

The  result  of  the  investigating  was  the  prompt 
calling  of  a  special  grand  jury  by  Judge  Horton  on 
Saturday  morning,  on  the  application  of  State's 
Attorney  Longenecker,  and  at  one  o'clock  on  the 
same  day  the  following  named  gentlemen  were 
sworn  in  as  such  special  grand  jury: 

The  Hon.  John  A.  Roche,  Fore-     Richard  L.  Dagen. 

man.  William  L.  Grey. 

George  Lanze.  John  B.  Miller. 

Wilhelm  Heinzeman.  Andrew  Peterson. 

J.  W.  Brockway.  W.  D.  Preston. 

George  A.  S.  Wilson.  Richard  Berlizheimer. 

W.  H.  Rose.  D.  V.  Purington. 

H.  B.  Stimson.  H.  C.  Hayt. 

John  Tomlinson.  Thomas  Moulding. 

C.  W.  Gendale.  M.  Selz. 

T.  F.  Haigh.  Joseph  Cahn. 

S.  M.  Moore.  H.  L.  Dow. 

The  result  of  their  deliberations  has  already  been 
stated.  When  their  report  was  returned,  Judge 
Horton  thanked  them  in  behalf  of  the  State  before 
discharging  them. 

With  the  indictments  against  the  six  jury  bribers 
and  the  discharge  of  the  jury  which  rendered  the 
indictments,  the  labor  of  the  State,  in  the  matter  of 
unearthing  the  second  conspiracy,  did  not  end. 
Other  arrests  soon  followed.  State's  Attorney 
Longenecker,  being  asked  by  a  reporter  what 
effect  the  arrest  of  the  jury  "  fixers  "  would  have 
on  the  trial  of  the  main  case,  replied:  "  No  direct 


A    STARTLING   CHANGE  OF  SCENE  313 

effect  whatever.  Things  will  be  pushed  right  along. 
It  is  probable  that  the  trial  of  the  bribers  will  not 
occur  until  the  murder  trial  is  concluded.  We  are, 
of  course,  perfectly  satisfied  with  the  nine  jurors 
already  selected. " 

After  the  return  of  the  indictments  into  court 
against  the  six  jury  bribers,  the  Criminal  Court 
building  was  full  of  the  wildest  rumors,  and  the 
secrecy  maintained  at  the  State's  Attorney's  office, 
together  with  the  rapidity  with  which  the  officers 
placed  at  the  disposal  of  the  State's  Attorney  moved 
about,  confirmed  the '  suspicion  that  some  other 
prominent  members  of  the  Clan-na-Gael  and  friends 
of  the  prisoners  were  being  very  closely  shadowed, 
and  were  liable  at  any  moment  to  be  arrested. 

Directly  after  the  grand  jury  retired  to  its  room 
State's  Attorney  Longenecker  and  Assistant  State's  - 
Attorneys  Neeley  and  Jampolis  went  to  the  grand 
jury  room.  In  a  few  minutes  officers  from  the 
State's  Attorney's  office  conducted  witnesses  before 
the  grand  jury,  and  before  one  o'clock  Alexander 
J.  Hanks,  the  ex-bailiff,  who  was  indicted  on  Sat- 
urday, had,  it  is  said,  made  a  clean  breast  of  the 
whole  affair  to  the  grand  jury;  likewise,  Ex-bailiff 
Soloman,  Tom  Kavanaugh,  Fred  W.  Smith  and 
Joseph  O'Donnell.  In  the  case  of  O'Donnell,  about 
fifteen  minutes  after  ten  o'clock,  Eliza  O'Sullivan, 
of  No.  297  West  Twelfth  street,  and  William  O'Don- 
nell, of  No.  195  DeKoven  street,  appeared  at  the 
Criminal  Court  building,  together  with  the  sister 
and  several  friends  of  O'Donnell,  and  swore  to  being 
worth  sufficient  property  to  qualify  them  for  going 


314  THE   GREAT   CRONIN   MYSTERY 

his  bondsmen  to  the  amount  of  $5,000  ordered  by 
the  court.  After  the  bond  was  prepared  by  the 
clerk,  the  bondsmen  appeared  before  Judge  Baker, 
the  prisoner  was  sent  for  from  the  jail,  and  the  bond 
duly  executed  in  open  court.  The  prisoner  was 
then  remanded  to  the  jail,  and  discharged  in  due 
course  on  the  bail  bond,  but  immediately  on  emerg- 
ing from  the  jail  into  the  Criminal  Court  building, 
he  was  taken  to  the  State's  Attorney's  office,  and 
there  detained  until  he  could  appear  before  the 
grand  jury  and  give  his  testimony. 

About  eleven  o'clock  it  was  very  currently 
rumored,  and  not  denied  by  the  State's  attorney  or 
any  of  his  assistants,  that  Mr.  John  Graham,  a  clerk 
for  A.  S.  Trude,  the  lawyer,  had  been  placed  under 
arrest. 

It  was  authoritatively  stated  at  twelve  o'clock,  by 
one  of  the  counsel  for  the  prosecution,  that  another 
startling  surprise  was  in  store  for  the  public,  and  it 
was  expected  that  the  grand  jury,  then  in  session, 
would  come  into  court  in  the  afternoon  and  present 
other  indictments.  At  1:50  p.  m.  the  grand  jury 
entered  Judge  Baker's  court,  and  handed  in  four 
indictments  —  against  Alexander  J.  Hanks,  ex-bail- 
iff; Mark  Soloman,  ex-bailiff ;  Jeremiah  O'Donnell 
and  John  Graham,  clerk  in  A.  S.  Trude's  law  office. 
Capiases  were  at  once  placed  in  the  hands  of  the 
sheriff. 

John  Graham,  the  clerk  in  A.  S.  Trude's  office, 
who  is  now  under  indictment,  was  arrested  Sunday 
night  about  twelve  o'clock,  and  has  been  under  lock 
and  key  ever  since.  He  was  the  man  who  was  to 


A   STARTLING   CHANGE   OF   SCENE  315 

put  up  the  money  with  which  to  bribe  the  jurors, 
and  it  is  asserted  by  Judge  Longenecker,  that  the 
evidence  against  him  is  very  conclusive. 

Alexander  L.  Hanks,  the  bailiff,  came  from  Cin- 
cinnati nine  or  ten  years  ago,  and  shortly  after 
began  to  figure  as  a  cheap  politician  on  West  Har- 
rison street.  He  is  of  German  parentage,  is  mar- 
ried, and  has  two  children.  His  residence  is  at  No. 
1 08  Gilpin  place.  Seven  years  ago  he  was  recom- 
mended by  Probate  Clerk  Tom  Sennott,  whom  he 
had  known  in  Cincinnati,  to  Sheriff  Seth  Hanchett 
for  a  place  in  his  office.  He  was  given  a  place  as 
bailiff,  and  served  through  Hanchett's  term.  He 
became  acquainted  with  C.  R.  Matson,  who  was 
Deputy  Sheriff,  in  the  interim,  and  when  Matson 
became  Sheriff  Hanks  was  retained.  He  had  borne 
a  good  name  up  to  his  recent  arrest,  and  was 
regarded  as  a  steady  man. 

Mark  Soloman,  the  other  crooked  bailiff,  is 
married  and  has  a  family.  He  has  served  as  a  bai- 
liff for  the  past  eighteen  months,  being  before  that 
time  in  a  subordinate  position  in  the  City  Hall. 
He  hails  from  the  Tenth  Ward,  and  it  was  his 
friends  in  that  locality  who  secured  his  appoint- 
ment by  Sheriff  Matson.  In  this  they  were  aided 
by  Charles  Woodman,  a  justice  of  the  peace,  who 
says,  however,  that  his  acquaintance  with  Soloman 
was  but  meager,  knowing  him  only  as  a  politician. 
Soloman,  Sheriff  Matson  states,  has  proven  an 
excellent  bailiff  until  the  recent  disclosures. 

Thomas  Kavanaugh,  who  is  asserted  to  be  a  leader 
in  the  bribery  plot,  is  a  member  of  the  firm  of 


316  THE   GREAT   CRONIN   MYSTERY 

Brown  &  Kavanaugh,  steam-fitters  and  plumbers  at 
No.  50  Franklin  street,  and  lives  at  No.  926  West 
Twelfth  street.  He  has  the  reputation  of  being 
rather  a  shrewd  rascal,  and  much  surprise  is  mani- 
fested by  those  who  know  him  that  he  squealed  so 
easily.  He  has  for  a  long  time  been  a  member  of 
Camp  No.  135  of  the  Clan-na-Gael.  He  has  also 
figured  as  a  prominent  Democratic  politician.  For 
a  considerable  period  —  ending  with  the  arrest  of 
the  boodlers  —  he  was  the  nominal  engineer  at  the 
County  Insane  Asylum.  He  was  an  intimate  friend 
of  Harry  Varnell,  and  is  reported  to  have  lined  his 
pockets  in  plethoric  fashion  during  the  boodle  reg- 
ime, narrowly  escaping  indictment  with  his  brother 
boodlers. 

FredW.  Smith  hails  from  Connecticut,  but  he 
has  lived  in  Chicago  the  greater  part  of  the  time  for 
the  past  twenty  years.  He  took  up  his  abode  for 
a  time  in  Oshkosh,  Wisconsin,  where  he  narrowly 
escaped  being  indicted  on  a  charge  of  perjury.  He 
then  returned  to  Chicago,  and  blossomed  as  a 
"  hardware  manufacturers'  agent,"  at  Nos.  135  and 
137  Lake  street.  Those  doing  business  in  the 
vicinity  say,  however,  that  he  has  not  been  particu- 
larly successful  in  that  line.  He  is  a  married  man, 
and  lives  at  365  LaSalle  avenue,  and  his  father-in- 
law,  James  Reynolds,  is  quite  a  prominent  boot  and 
shoe  manufacturer  in  New  Haven,  Connecticut. 
Smith  is  quite  a  swell  in  dress,  and  a  gorgeous 
neckscarf  and  lofty  collar  are  always  features  of  his 
attire.  Those  in  the  vicinity  of  his  office  say  he 
was  never  around  his  place  of  business  more  than 


A   STARTLING   CHANGE    OF   SCENE  317 

an  hour  each  day,  and  very  little  is  known  of  his 
life  here. 

Jeremiah  O'Donnell  is  hardly  more  than  a  boy, 
and  is  said  to  be  not  a  very  wise  boy  at  that.  He 
claims,  however,  to  be  29  years  of  age.  He  was 
appointed  to  the  position  of  United  States  store- 
keeper for  the  First  District  of  Illinois  last  June. 
His  bond  as  storekeeper  was  $10,000,  but  it  is 
impossible  to  discover  who  signed  that  document, 
as  it  is  now  on  file  in  Washington.  O'Donnell,  who 
has  lived  in  Chicago  for  fifteen  years,  was  recom- 
mended by  Senator  Farwell  and  quite  a  number  of 
prominent  politicians  in  the  Second  District.  He 
is  unmarried. 

Joseph  Konen  has  for  a  year  past  been  a  fruiterer 
at  No.  246  Madison  street.  The  business  was  not 
apparently  at  all  lucrative.  Konen  is  married,  but 
has  no  children.  He  is  of  German  parentage,  but 
was  born  in  this  country.  He  is  the  man  who  was 
offered  $1,000  to  go  on  the  jury,  and  $5,000  in  case 
of  an  acquittal.  His  friends  say  Konen  is  not  so 
foolish  as  to  become  criminally  complicated  in  so 
serious  a  matter. 

State's  Attorney  Longenecker  says  that  the  case 
by  no  means  ends  with  the  present  indictments, 
but  will  be  very  much  more  far  reaching  than  the 
most  sanguine  can  suppose.  In  the  meantime  the 
laborious  and  tedious  work  of  securing  "  twelve 
good  men  and  true"  to  try  the  five  defendants 
indicted  for  the  murder  of  the  Irish  patriot,  Dr. 
Patrick  Henry  Cronin,  goes  slowly  but  surely  on. 


318  THE   GREAT   CRONIN   MYSTERY. 


CHAPTER  XXVIII. 

A  JURY  SECURED  AT  LAST — TWELVE  GOOD  MEN 

AND  TRUE — NAMES  OF  THE  JURYMEN  —  THE 

LONG    HUNT    FOR    MEN    WHO   WOULD  AND 

COULD  SERVE — WHAT  IT  COST  THE  STATE  TO 

FIND  THEM. 

ON  October  25,  1889,  a  jury  in  the  Cronin  case 
was  completed. 

To  adjudge  the  question  of  life  or  death  in  active 
participation  or  complicity  in  the  murder  of  P.  H. 
Cronin,  as  charged  against  the  prisoners  —  Daniel 
Coughlin,  Martin  Burke,  P.  O'Sullivan,  John  F. 
Beggs  and  John  Kunze  —  are: 

JOHN  CULVER,  real  estate  dealer  at  No.  108 
'Washington  street,  forty  years  of  age;  American; 
Methodist;  temperance  man;  resident  of  thirty 
years'  standing,  and  belongs  to  no  secret  socie- 
ties. 

JAMES  A.  PIERSON,  farmer,  living  near  Glen- 
wood;  fifty-five  years  of  age;  belongs  to  no 
church  or  secret  society;  American  of  Dutch 
parentage. 

JOHNL.  HALL,  aged  twenty-nine  years;  draughts- 
man in  office  of  Bauer  &  Hill;  his  home  is  at 
Fernwood;  American;  Methodist  and  temperance; 
belongs  to  no  secret  society. 

CHARLES  C.  DlX;  born  in  Chicago,  resides  at 
132  N.  Carpenter  street;  about  thirty  years  of  age, 
cashier  in  insurance  office;  Episcopalian,  and 
member  only  of  a  beneficial  association. 


THE  JURY. 


A  JURY  SECURED  AT  LAST.  319 

HENRY  D.  WALKER,  fifty-eight  years  of  age; 
resides  at  No.  3738  Cottage  Grove  avenue;  Protest- 
ant, and  American  born.  In  the  upholstery  busi- 
ness. 

FRANK  ALLISON,  a  machinist  with  C.  F.  Elmes, 
at  Jefferson  and  Fulton  streets;  aged  thirty-nine 
years;  native-born  American. 

CHARLES  L.  CORKE,  drug  clerk;  lives  at  Evans- 
ton;  of  English  parentage;  thirty  years  old;  mem- 
ber of  the  Methodist  church  and  Royal  League. 

WILLIAMS.  NORTH,  of  96  Walton  place;  manu- 
facturer of  sewing  machines  at  60  Michigan  avenue; 
American  and  Presbyterian. 

CHARLES  F.  MARLOR,  drug  clerk,  living  at  429 
Washington  boulevard;  an  American  and  Episco- 
palian. 

ELIJAH  BONTECOU,  salesman  for  Besself  &  Co. ; 
born  in  New  York.  His  intelligence  and  candor 
obliged  him  to  serve,  spite  of  objections  by  the 
defense. 

EDWARD  S.  BRYAN,  of  Maywood;  native  of  New 
Jersey;  salesman  for  C.  J.  L.  Meyer  &  Co.,  307 
Wabash  avenue;  member  of  the  Congregational 
church.  A  model  juror. 

BENJAMIN  F.  CLARKE,  for  twenty  years  in  the 
real  estate  business,  No.  4432  Evans  avenue.  His 
fairness  and  intelligence  so  impressed  both  court 
and  counsel  that  he  was  gladly  received  by  all  con- 
cerned. 

To  secure  this  "  chosen  twelve  "  cost  the  State 
of  Illinois,  in  fees  alone  to  veniremen  summoned, 
about  $3,800, 


320 


THE   GREAT    CRONIN    MYSTERY 


No  better  jury,  apparently,  was  ever  collected. 
Individually  and  collectively  they  are  most  intelli- 
gent, well  balanced  and  fair  men,  of  excellent  stand- 
ing and  fully  capable  of  rendering  a  fair  verdict  in 
the  remarkable  case  placed  before  them. 

The  trouble  in  obtaining  a  jury  in  this  trial  far 
exceeded  that  experienced  in  any  other.  The  "  om- 
nibus boodle  "  case  required  three  weeks  in  secur- 
ing a  jury,  and  /2O  veniremen  were  called  before 
twelve  were  selected.  In  the  anarchist  trial,  over 
three  weeks  were  occupied  in  examination  of  982 
veniremen. 

In  the  Cronin  case,  up  to  the  close  of  the  pro- 
ceedings of  October  23,  1889,  1,115  men  had 
pledged  themselves  that  they  would  "  true  answers 
make  to  all  such  questions  as  should  be  put  to  them 
by  court  or  counsel  touching  their  competency  to 
serve  as  jurors."  Of  this  number  175  answered 
the  lawyers'  questions  in  such  a  manner  as  to  enti- 
tle them  to  be  qualified  as  jurors,  but  they  were 
peremptorily  excused  from  service  —  ninety-seven 
of  them  by  the  defendants,  and  seventy-eight  by  the 
prosecution  ;  /52  citizens  declared  that  they  were 
unable  to  give  the  defendants  a  fair  trial. 

Of  the  twelve  men  chosen,  six  were  tendered 
by  the  defense  to  the  State,  and  the  other  six  by 
the  prosecution  to  the  defense.  Those  tendered 
by  the  defense  are  Messrs.  Culver,  Hall,  Dix, 
Walker,  Corke  and  Bontecou  ;  while  the  prosecut- 
ing lawyers  were  the  first  to  be  satisfied  with  Pier- 
son,  Allison,  North,  Marlor,  Bryan  and  Clarke. 


A  JURY  SECURED   AT  LAST  321 

Mr.  Culver  was  designated  to  act  as  foreman  of 
the  jury.  After  which  Judge  McConnell  remarked: 
"  Gentlemen,  we  have  completed  the  jury,  I  am 
glad  to  say.  What  is  your  further  pleasure?  " 

"  I  want  to  state  to  your  honor,"  said  State's  At- 
torney Longenecker,  "  that  we  would  like  some  time 
for  preparation  in  this  case,  and  by  giving  us  time, 
I  am  satisfied  we  can  shorten  the  case  at  least  a 
week." 

"  Do  you  want  until  ten  o'clock  to-morrow  morn- 
ing? "  quietly  inquired  Mr.  Forrest. 

"We  want  longer  time  than  that,"  replied  the 
State's  Attorney.  "  I  will  leave  it  to  the  court, 
but  I  will  state,  that  we  have  been  interrupted  in 
this  case  by  other  matters,  and  there  are  a  great 
many  witnesses  to  be  called,  and  we  have  to  get 
together  and  arrange  for  the  presentation  of  the 
case,  and  by  so  doing  I  am  satisfied  we  can  shorten 
it,  if  not  two  weeks,  at  least  one  week. " 

"  We  object  to  that,"  said  Mr.  Forrest.  "  With 
all  the  police  force  of  the  city  of  Chicago  at  their 
disposal,  and  four  of  the  best  criminal  lawyers  — " 

"  There  is  no  necessity  for  arguing  the  matter," 
quietly  remarked  the  court,  interrupting  Mr.  For- 
rest. 

"  How  much  time  do  you  want?  "  inquired  Mr. 
Donahoe. 

"  They  want  two  days,"  said  the  court;  "  but  I 
am  inclined  to  think  two  days  too  long.  I  am  per- 
fectly willing  to  give  you  a  full  day,  until  the  day 
after  to-morrow  at  ten  o'clock.  I  think  two  days  is 


322  THE  GREAT  CRONIN    MYSTERY 

too  long,  after  the  time  we  have  already  taken  in 
the  case ! " 

"  Your  honor  knows  there  are  incidental  matters 
we  have  taken  up,  and  which  have  consumed  a  great 
deal  of  time  and  attention,  apart  from  this  case," 
said  Mr.  Hynes. 

"  I  am  willing  to  indulge  you,  some  time  later,  in 
shorter  hours,  if  necessary,"  replied  the  court; 
"  But  I  think  the  case  should  go  on  now,  after  rest- 
ing until  the  day  after  to-morrow  at  ten  o'clock,  in 
view  of  the  application  of  the  State's  Attorney,  which 
I  think  not  unreasonable,  considering  the  other  mat- 
ters which  they  have  taken  up,  and  which  have 
claimed  a  great  deal  of  their  attention.  There  will 
therefore  be  an  adjournment  until  the  day  after 
to-morrow.  Probably  the  attorneys  will  appreciate 
the  rest,  and  the  court  will." 

"  But  probably  the  jury  will  not,"  interrupted 
Mr.  Forrest. 

"  I  am  satisfied  that  an  adjournment  will  be  of 
benefit  to  all  parties,"  remarked  Mr.  Mills. 

"  I  have  endeavored  to  consider  this  jury  from 
the  beginning,"  said  Judge  McConnell,  "  and  I  have 
been  inclined  to  expedite  its  selection  within  the 
past  few  days,  but  I  am  satisfied,  from  the  repre- 
sentations already  made  to  me,  that  it  will  expedite 
the  matter  to  take  a  recess  for  twenty-four  hours. 
I  think  probably  the  case  can  be  presented  more 
compactly  and  concisely  and  in  shorter  time  if  a 
recess  is  taken;  and  while,  if  more  time  were  given, 
it  would  consult  the  convenience  of  the  counsel  for 
the  State,  I  cannot  take  that  into  consideration  at 

C.rntiin.   Mv.ft.ffV  z>  J 


A  JURY  SECURED   AT  LAST  323 

the  present  time,  and  twenty-four  hours  is  the 
longest  recess  I  can  give  you.  Therefore  the 
court  will  now  take  a  recess  until  Thursday  morn- 
ing at  ten  o'clock." 

The  court  then  addressed  the  jury,  and  advised 
them  at  this  stage  of  the  case  not  to  discuss  even 
the  merits  of  the  case  among  themselves,  but  to 
wait  until  they  have  some  evidence  before  them. 
The  jury  then  retired  in  custody  of  the  bailiffs,  and 
the  court  took  a  recess  until  Thursday  morning, 
October  24. 


324  THE   GREAT  CRONIN   MYSTERY 

CHAPTER  XXIX. 

THE  TRIAL  —  MASTERLY  SUMMING  UP  OF  THE 
PLOT  —  BITTER  ARRAIGNMENT  OF  THE  AS- 
SASSINS—  A  TERRIBLE  SUMMARY  OF  START- 
LING FACTS  —  PROOF,  PROOF,  PROOF,  FROM 
THE  FIRST  TO  THE  BlTTER  END. 

IT  was  an  attentive,  deeply  interested  throng 
that  came  crowding,  pushing,  wedging  into  the 
space  of  court-room,  Branch  No.  3,  on  October 
24,  1889. 

Calling  the  list  of  jurors  was  first  in  order,  and 
then  State's  Attorney  Longenecker  proceeded  to 
deliver  the  opening  address  in  a  trial  that  was  to 
arouse  the  interest,  awaken  the  curiosity,  and 
command  the  attention  of  two  continents. 

In  manner  extraordinarily  impressive,  this 
official  of  the  commonwealth  began  his  speech. 
He  reminded  the  jurors  of  the  trying  ordeal  of 
examination  through  which  each  of  them  had 
passed.  Without  any  attempt  at  oratory,  he  gave 
to  the  jury  a  plain  and  succinct  statement  of  the 
evidence  he  had  collected,  and  would  presently 
present  to  them  for  their  consideration  and  verdict 
thereon.  He  said  that  he  was  confident  this  evi- 
dence would  convince  the  jury  of  the  existence  of 
a  conspiracy  to  murder  Dr.  Cronin. 

"  You  are  not  called  upon,"  said  M&  Longenecker, 
"  to  try  the  Clan-na-Gael  organization.  We  are 
not  here  to  prosecute  that  organization  or  to  defend 


JUDGE  McCONNELL. 


STATE'S  ATTORNEY  LONGENE£KER. 


THE   TRIAL  325 

it,"  but,  as  the  murder  of  Dr.  Cronin  grew  out  of 
the  fact  of  his  being  a  member  of  that  organization, 
and  his  dealings  therewith,  the  State's  Attorney 
proceeded  to  give  to  the  jury  a  detailed  account  of 
its  history.  "  This  organization, "he  said,  "  began 
its  existence  in  1869,  its  proper  name  being  the 
United  Brotherhood.  It  was  organized  for  the 
purpose  of  protecting  Ireland  by  force  of  arms. 
Into  the  organization  went  patriotic  Irishmen, 
Irishmen  for  political  effect,  and  Irishmen  for  the 
money  that  was  in  it.  Remember  that  this  organ- 
ization required  every  man  to  be  of  Irish  descent, 
and  that  his  sworn  duty  was  loyalty  to  Ireland.  A 
great  many  patriotic  Irishmen  went  into  it  believ- 
ing that  some  day  they  would  set  Ireland  free,  and 
give  her  a  republican  form  of  government  the  same 
as  we  have  here. 

"In  1 88 1,  the  organization  met  in  national  con- 
vention in  Chicago,  and  selected  as  an  executive 
board  Alexander  Sullivan,  Feeley  and  Boland. 
The  board  consisted  of  five  men,  but  these  three 
constituted  the  majority  of  that  executive  board. 
They  had  a  right  to  do  what  they  pleased,  and  no 
one  had  a  right  to  disobey.  Whatever  these  three 
men  commanded  they  had  to  do;  so  that  Alex- 
ander Sullivan,  Feeley  and  Boland  took  the  control 
of  this  executive  board." 

At  this  point  in  Mr.  Longenecker's  remarks,  an 
objection  was  made  by  Mr.  Forrest,  for  the  defense, 
that  it  was  not  admissible  at  this  stage  of  the  trial, 
for  the  State's  Attorney  to  state  to  the  jury  what 
Sullivan,  Feeley  and  Boland  did  or  did  not  do. 


326  THE   GREAT   CRONIN   MYSTERY 

Judge  McConnell  suggested  to  Mr.  Longenecker 
that  he  must  keep  within  the  limits  of  what  may  be 
admissible,  and  the  State's  Attorney  resumed  his 
remarks. 

"  As  I  was  remarking,"  continued  Mr.  Longe- 
necker, "  you  will  see  that  the  power  of  this  organ- 
ization was  all  vested  in  this  board.  They  were 
its  directors  from  year  to  year  ever  since  1869. 
They  were  raising  funds,  and  the  oath  taken  was, 
that  it  was  to  be  used  for  no  other  purpose  than  to 
benefit  Ireland.  Now,  up  to  1881,  this  fund  was 
held  secret  by  this  organization  —  was  regarded  as 
secret  until  these  three  men  got  in;  then  they 
began  to  debate  a  policy  different  from  what  was 
contemplated  by  the  organization."  "  Instead  of 
waging  legitimate  war,"  continued  Mr.  Longe- 
necker, as  his  remarks  are  summarized  by  the 
Herald,  "  for  the  freedom  of  Ireland,  a  dynamite 
policy  was  pursued  abroad,  and  a  system  of  embez- 
zlement practiced  at  home.  One  policy  was  in 
defiance  of  the  laws  of  England;  the  other  in  defi- 
ance of  the  laws  of  America.  Both  were  atrocious. 
The  money  in  the  treasury  was  squandered  in  mys- 
terious ways;  men  were  sent  to  England  on  des- 
perate missions,  and  a  score  of  them  were  now  in 
British  jails.  The  commands  of  the  triangle  were 
fatal.  A  man  who  should  shirk  the  responsibility 
thrust  upon  him  by  Sullivan,  Feeley  and  Boland, 
in  this  corrupt  era  of  the  Clan-na-Gael,  was 
instantly  branded  as  a  traitor  to  the  cause." 

Here  Mr.  Forrest  again   objected  to  the  state- 
ments of  the  State's  Attorney  as  being  inadmissible 


THE   TRIAL  327 

at  that  stage  of  the  case,  and  requested  the  re- 
porter to  note  an  exception  on  behalf  of  the 
defendants. 

Continuing  his  remarks,  Mr,  Longenecker  said: 
"  In  1884  this  so-called  triangle  was  the  closest  cor- 
poration that  ever  existed.  The  members  did  not 
dare  to  que.stion  any  act  of  the  executive  board  ; 
so  that  you  can  see  as  I  go  on  further  that  they  could 
carry  out  whatever  they  decided  to  do.  In  1884 
they  adopted  the  policy  of  what  they  called  '  active 
work.'  If  a  member  was  sent  to  England  he  was 
ordered  to  report  there  for  funds,  and  his  identity 
was  made  known,  and  he  was  thrown  into  prison. 
This  was  done  to  enable  them  to  steal  the  funds 
that  had  been  accumulating  for  legitimate  pur- 
poses. They  had  to  make  an  excuse  for  the  use  of 
the  funds  for  the  order,  until  at  last,  when  they 
made  the  last  report,  making  the  members  in  the 
order  believe  that  English  detectives  were  among 
them  and  that  they  were  in  debt  $13,000  out  of 
$250,000,  which  they  had  in  hand  when  the  '  tri- 
angle'took  charge  of  the  order.  Some  members 
would  not  stand  that  business,  and  began  to  in- 
vestigate, and  began  to  draw  out  of  the  organiza- 
tion. Camp  after  camp  was  expelled  by  the 
board  —  by  these  men  who  stood  there  robbing  the 
treasury.  Dr.  Cronin  read  a  circular  from  one  of 
these  camps  protesting  against  the  action  of  this 
board,  and  for  that,  and  nothing  else,  Dr.  Cronin 
was  tried,  and  Alexander  Sullivan  prosecuted  him, 
and  he  was  expelled  for  treason,  simply  because  he 
had  read  that  circular  in  his  camp,  showing  the 


328  THE   GREAT   CRONIN  MYSTERY 

action  of  these  men.  That  was  done  in  1885  in 
this  city.  Dan  Coughlin  sat  on  the  committee 
that  branded  him  as  a  traitor  simply  because  he 
had  exposed  the  doings  of  these  men  who  were 
robbing  the  order  of  these  funds.  Le  Caron  sat  on 
that  committee  also,  and  it  suspended  Dr.  Cronin 
for  treason. " 

Here  Mr.  Forrest  noted  another  exception  to  the 
statements  of  the  State's  Attorney. 

Mr.  Longenecker,  continuing,  said:  "  Finally,  in 
1888,  in  this  city,  a  convention  was  held,  which 
was  called  a  union  convention. 

"  This  organization  began  its  existence  in  1869. 
It  is  known  as  the  Clan-na-Gael,  its  proper  name 
being  the  United  Brotherhood.  It  was  organized 
for  the  purpose  of  protecting  Ireland  by  force  of 
arms.  Into  that  organization  went  patriotic  Irish- 
men; into  that  organization  went  Irishmen  for 
political  effect;  into  that  organization  went-  Irish- 
men for  the  money  that  was  in  it.  Remember  that 
this  organization  required  every  man  to  be  of  Irish 
descent,  and  that  his  sworn  duty  was  loyalty  to 
Ireland,  and  that  every  exertion  was  to  be  made  in 
the  interest  of  freeing  that  country  when  the  oppor- 
tunity came,  not  by  special  work,  but  by  legitimate 
warfare.  Into  this  organization  went  these  differ- 
ent germs.  They  had  districts  all  over  the  country, 
and  now  it  spreads  from  ocean  to  ocean,  and  has 
camps  every  where.  They  assume  different  names; 
for  instance,  Camp  20  is  called  '  Columbia  Camp,' 
and  was  supposed  to  be  a  literary  society.  This 
organization  was  in  existence  for  a  number  of  years 


THE   TRIAL  329 

without  its  becoming  known  to  the  public  in  gen- 
eral that  there  was  any  such  organization  in  exist- 
ence. They  had  their  national  conventions,  and 
few  of  the  members  even  knew  when  the  national 
conventions  were  held.  They  had  an  executive 
board,  made  up  of  the  district  members.  In  each 
district  there  was  an  officer  who  had  charge  of  the 
district,  and  he  was  called  the  district  member. 
These  district  members  constituted  a  board.  In 
1879  there  were  fifteen  districts,  I  believe,  and 
there  were  fifteen  members  of  the  executive  board. 
There  is  no  question  that  that  organization  was 
organized  for  the  purpose  of  freeing  Ireland  by 
war;  that  is  to  say,  that,  whenever  there  was  an 
opportunity  of  going  into  war  to  free  Ireland,  this 
organization  should  act  in  that  direction.  A  great 
many  patriotic  Irishmen  went  into  it  believing  that 
some  day  they  would  set  Ireland  free  and  give  her 
a  republican  form  of  government,  the  same  as  we 
have  here. 

"  In  1 88 1  this  organization  met  in  national  con- 
vention in  Chicago  and  selected  as  an  executive 
board  Alexander  Sullivan,  Feeley  and  Boland. 
The  board  consisted  of  five  men,  but  these 
three  constituted  the  majority  of  that  executive 
board.  They  had  a  right  to  do  what  they  pleased, 
and  no  one  had  a  right  to  disobey.  Whatever 
these  three  men  commanded  they  had  to  do;  so 
that  Alexander  Sullivan,  Feeley  and  Boland  took 
the  control  of  this  executive  board." 

"  I  object  to  further  inquiry  as  to  the   doings  of 


330  THE   GREAT   CRONIN   MYSTERY 

this  triangle,"  said  Mr.  Forrest.  "  At  this  stage 
what  they  did  or  did  not  do  is  not  admissible." 

"  We  object  to  these  interruptions,"  said  Mr. 
Mills." 

"  I  take  it  for  granted  that  at  this  time  the 
State's  Attorney  must  keep  himself  within  the  limits 
of  what  may  be  admissible.  I  can  do  no  more 
than  suggest  that." 

The  State's  Attorney,  resuming  his  argument, 
said:  "  As  I  was  remarking  —  and  you  will  see  the 
force  of  it  when  I  get  through — you  will  see 
that  the  power  of  this  organization  was  all  vested 
in  this  board.  They  were  its  directors  from  year 
to  year  ever  since  1869.  They  were  raisingfunds, 
and  the  oath  taken  was  that  it  was  to  be  used  for 
no  other  purpose  than  to  benefit  Ireland.  Now,  up 
to  1881,  this  fund  was  held  secret  by  this  organiza- 
tion. These  men  regarded  it  as  secret  until  these 
three  men  got  in  there;  then  they  began  to 
debate  a  policy  different  from  what  was  contem- 
plated by  the  organization.  Then  they  adopted 
what  was  called  the  dynamite  policy,  and  they 
called  it  '  active  work.'  That  is  what  these  three 
men  did,  as  we  will  prove  from  the  witness  stand 
here.  That  policy  was  adopted  after  they  got  con- 
trol of  this  board. 

"  Remember,  now,  that  they  haa  planted  in  their 
constitution  an  oath,  that  every  man  who  became 
a  member  of  the  organization  must  obey  the  orders 
of  this  triangle.  This  ran  along,  and  money  was 
being  used,  and  camps,  were  called  upon  to  send  in 
more  funds,  and  '  active  work  '  was  being  had.  As 


THE   TRIAL  331 

I  say,  the  object  of  the  organization  was  diverted 
from  that  of  legitimate  warfare  to  that  of  special  acts 
against  individuals  and  property  in  England.  That 
was  the  policy  adopted  by  these  three  men,  as  we 
shall  show  from  the  witness  stand." 

Mr.  Forrest  again  objected  to  this  line  of  argu- 
ment, and  requested  the  reporter  to  note  an  excep- 
tion on  behalf  of  the  defendants. 

Judge  Longenecker,  resuming,  said:  "  This  ran 
along  for  some  time,  and,  finally,  when  they  ordered 
men  to  go  to  England,  they  must  obey  the  execu- 
tive board,  and  whatever  they  ordered  had  to  be 
done.  The  members  had  no  right  to  question; 
the  executive  board  was  supreme.  In  1884  this 
so-called  triangle  was  the  closest  corporation  that 
ever  existed.  The  members  did  not  dare  to  ques- 
tion any  act  of  the  executive  board;  so  that  you 
can  see,  as  I  go  on  further,  that  they  could  carry 
out  whatever  they  decided  to  do.  In  1884  they 
adopted  the  policy  of  what  they  called  'active 
work.'  If  a  member  was  sent  to  England,  he 
was  ordered  to  report  there  for  funds,  and  his 
identity  was  made  known,  and  he  was  thrust  in 
prison.  To-day  the  prison  doors  are  locked  upon 
twenty  men  who  were  sent  there  by  this  executive 
board.  This  was  done  for  the  purpose  of  enabling 
them  to  steal  the  funds  that  had  been  accumulating 
for  legitimate  purposes.  They  had  to  make  an 
excuse  for  the  use  of  the  funds  to  this  order,  until 
at  last,  when  they  made  the  last  report,  making  the 
members  of  the  order  believe  that  English  detect- 
ives were  among  them,  and  that  they  were  in  debt 


332  THE   GREAT   CRONIN   MYSTERY 

$13,000  out  of  $250,000,  which  they  had  in  hand 
when  the  '  triangle '  took  charge  of  the  order. 
Some  members  would  not  stand  that  business,  and 
began  to  investigate,  and  began  to  draw  out  of  the 
organization.  Camp  after  camp  was  expelled  by 
this  board — by  these  men  who  stood  there  robbing 
its  treasury.  Dr.  Cronin  read  a  circular  from  one 
of  these  camps,  protesting  against  the  action  of 
this  board,  and  for  that,  and  nothing  else, 
Dr.  Cronin  was  tried,  and  Alexander  Sulli- 
van prosecuted  him,  and  he  was  expelled  for 
treason,  simply  because  he  had  read  that  circular 
in  his  camp,  showing  the  action  of  these  men. 
That  was  done  in  1885  in  this  city.  Dan  Coughlin 
sat  on  the  committee  that  branded  him  as  a  traitor, 
simply  because  he  had  exposed  the  doings  of  these 
men  who  were  robbing  the  order  of  these  funds. 
Le  Caron  was  on  that  committee,  as  we  will  show, 
and  this  committee  suspended  Dr.  Cronin  for  trea- 
son." 

Mr.  Forrest  again  objected  to  the  statement  of 
the  State's  Attorney,  and  took  a  formal  exception. 

Judge  Longenecker,  resuming,  said:  "  Finally,  in 
1888,  in  this  city,  a  convention  was  held,  which  was 
cilled  a  union  convention.  Remember  that  in  the 
meantime  this  'triangle'  had  disappeared.  They 
got  out.  Sullivan  had  left  the  order;  as  to  the 
others  I  do  not  remember,  but  he  had  dropped  out 
of  the  order.  When  this  union  convention  was 
called,  it  met  here  in  this  city.  At  that  convention 
charges  were  made  against  the  executive  board  — 
against  the  '  triangle '  —  charging  them  with  those 


THE  TRIAL  333 

things  I  tell  you  of — misappropriation  of  funds,  and 
those  other  things  that  happened  in  England.  This 
was  charged  by  Dillon  and  Devoy  in  that  conven- 
tion of  1888.  At  that  convention  a  committee  of 
ten  was  appointed  to  investigate  the  charges  against 
the  triangle,  and  on  one  side  Dr.  Cronin  was  selected 
as  a  committeeman.  I  do  not  remember  the  names, 
but  there  were  six  committeemen  selected  to  try 
Alexander  Sullivan  and  those  two  other  men  for 
the  things  that  I  have  told  you  of.  This  committee 
met  last  year  and  had  a  trial  in  Buffalo,  N.  Y.,  at 
which  place  Alexander  Sullivan  and  those  two  other 
men  appeared  and  made  their  defense.  A  resolu- 
tion was  made  to  order  the  secretary  to  destroy 
everything  that  was  done,  and  to  keep  no  record  of 
the  trial.  A  protest  was  made  by  Sullivan  that  Dr. 
Cronin  should  not  be  allowed  to  sit  on  the  commit- 
tee, but  he  was  permitted  to  sit  there,  and  they 
took  days  and  days  to  hear  the  evidence,  and  that 
evidence  will  be  introduced  here.  Dr.  Cronin  took 
full  minutes  showing  what  they  had  done  in  this 
country  and  across  the  water,  under  the  direction 
of  this  board.  When  that  committee  disbanded 
and  got  ready  to  make  their  report,  four  were  against 
publishing  the  evidence,  but  Dr.  Cronin  insisted  on 
publishing  the  evidence  to  all  the  camps,  and  let- 
ting the  members  know  what  this  triangle  had  done. 
This  report  was  not  sent  out.  Dr.  Cronin  insisted 
on  this  evidence  being  published  through  every 
camp  in  the  country.  That  publication  would  have 
shown  that  these  men  had  robbed  the  order  of  its 
funds,  and  robbed  men  of  their  liberty. 


334  THE   GREAT   CRONIN   MYSTERY 

"  You  may  ask, '  What  has  that  to  do  with  this  case 
and  with  the  men  on  trial?'  It  comes  in  this  way. 
Dr.  Cronin  insisted  on  this  publication.  A  major- 
ity of  the  executive  that  exists  to-day  is  in  favor  of 
the  'triangle,'  because  they  were  made  up  of  that 
faction  and  controlled  the  executive  board.  So  they 
did  not  send  out  this  report.  Dr.  Cronin  insisted 
on  its  going  forth,  and  they  kept  it  back.  Up  to 
the  4th  of  May  this  report  had  not  been  sent  out; 
but  the  very  day  on  which  Dr.  Cronin  met  his 
death  the  executive  board  was  called  together,  and 
on  the  5th  an  order  was  sent  to  the  camp  with  Alex- 
ander Sullivan's  protest,  charging  that  Dr.  Cronin  was 
a  perjurer;  that  he  had  sworn  allegiance  to  Canada, 
and  that  he  was  a  traitor  to  the  Irish  cause,  as  we 
will  show  over  his  own  signature. 

"  Now,  keep  these  facts  together.  That  report 
was  not  sent  out  until  after  Dr.  Cronin's  disappear- 
ance, and  then  it  was  the  assumption  that  he  would 
never  be  found>  Then  the  report  was  sent  out  that 
Cronin  had  sworn  allegiance  to  the  English 
people,  that  he  was  a  spy  and  a  traitor  to  the  Irish 
cause. 

"  There  was  a  twofold  purpose  in  ruining  Cronin's 
record  as  an  Irishman  and  a  citizen.  It  was  for 
the  purpose  of  building  up  this  triangle  and  making 
them  a  power.  If  it  was  necessary  that  Cronin 
should  be  killed,  he  must  be  killed,  but  they  never 
intended  that  this  community  should  understand 
that  Dr.  Cronin  was  killed.  That  is  why  I  made 
the  remark  that  the  unseen  hand  that  concocted 
this  conspiracy  to  take  the  life  of  Dr.  Cronin  was 


THE   TRIAL  ,  335 

again  at  work  making  this  community  believe  that 
Dr.  Cronin  was  still  alive,  and  that  he  would  appear 
on  the  other  side  of  the  water  as  a  traitor  to  the 
cause  in  which  he  was  enlisted.  But,  you  will  ask, 
what  was  the  motive  for  this?  Dr.  Cronin's  report 
had  been  sent  to  all  the  camps,  and  convicted  these 
men  of  embezzling  the  funds  for  years,  and,  if  that 
were  published,  it  would  convict  them  of  being 
traitors  to  the  Irish  cause,  embezzlers  and  violators 
of  the  laws  of  two  countries,  and,  instead  of  doing 
that  which  would  benefit  poor  Ireland,  it  would 
brand  them  as  the  worst  traitors  on  earth  to  the 
Irish  people.  So  Dan  Coughlin  went  around 
telling  people  that  Cronin  was  a  traitor,  and  in 
Camp  20  on  the  night  of  the  8th  of  February  —  to 
show  you  how  far  back  this  conspiracy  began  — 
as  far  back  as  the  8th  of  February  they  began  to 
educate  the  camps  to  believe  that  Cronin  was 
another  Le  Caron.  He  led  them  to  believe  that 
this  patriotic  Irishman,  who  was  the  leading  man 
to  demand  an  investigation  of  these  men,  and  to 
inquire  as  to  the  funds  belonging  to  this  order  — 
they  wanted  to  make  the  rank  and  file  believe  that 
he  was  a  spy,  and  that  he  was  another  Le  Caron, 
and  that  he  was  waiting  to  go  to  England  and 
testify  as  Le  Caron  had  done.  So  these  men  began 
to  educate  the  camps  to  believe  that  Cronin  was  in 
reality  a  traitor  to  their  cause.  They  excited  these 
men  to  conspire  to  '  remove '  Cronin  for  one  pur- 
pose, when  they  were  actually  removing  him  for 
another  purpose. 

"  The  thing  was  concocted  in  this  way  :  John  F. 


336  THE   GREAT   CRONIN   MYSTERY 

Beggs,  an  intimate  friend  of  Alexander  Sullivan, 
made  a  speech  in  Camp  20  denouncing  Cronin,  and 
said  that  this  thing  would  have  to  be  stopped  if  it 
took  blood.  That  is  the  kind  of  a  speech  Beggs 
made.  The  triangle  had  gone  out  of  existence  after 
robbing  the  organization  of  its  funds,  and  yet  this 
senior  guardian,  in  his  own  camp,  said  he  would  not 
permit  that  kind  of  talk  about  the  triangle,  and  it 
had  to  be  stopped  if  it  took  blood.  We  propose 
to  prove  in  this  case  that  John  F.  Beggs,  Martin 
Bourke,  Patrick  Cooney  and  Patrick  O'Sullivan  all 
belonged  to  Camp  20.  They  met  here  on  the  North 
Side.  We  will  prove  that  John  F.  Beggs  was  the 
senior  guardian  of  that  camp,  and  that  on  the  8th 
day  of  February  they  had  their  regular  meeting. 
This  report  had  not  been  sent  out.  Remember  that 
every  one  was  sworn  not  to  question  the  work  of 
the  executive.  This  report  of  that  trial  committee 
had  not  been  sent  out,  and  no  one  had  a  right  to 
know  of  that  report  except  through  the  executive. 
On  the  8th  of  February,  with  Beggs  in  the  chair  as 
senior  guardian,  they  charged  that  there  had  been 
spies  in  their  camps,  and  one  member  got  up  and 
said  that  the  best  thing  they  could  do  was  to  inves- 
tigate the  '  triangle  ' — these  men  who  had  robbed 
them  of  their  funds.  At  that  Dan  Coughlin  and 
several  others  jumped  to  their  feet  and  wanted  to 
know  where  he  got  that  information.  He  said  he 
had  been  in  a  camp  where  it  had  been  reported 
that  the  triangle  had  misused  the  funds  of  the  order 
and  sent  men  to  English  prisons.  Dan  Cough- 
lin then  moved  that  a  secret  committee  be  appointed 


THE  TRIAL  337 

to  investigate  that  matter,  and  it  was  seconded  and 
carried  and  entered  of  record,  and  we  will  present 
it  to  you  here — -that  the  senior  guardian  appoint  a 
committee  to  investigate  where  the  charges  were 
made  in  another  camp.  The  records  will  tell  you 
where  it  was.  It  was  in  Dr.  Cronin's  camp  and  by 
Dr.  Cronin.  It  was  on  the  8th  of  February.  I 
wish  you  to  remember  closely  these  dates.  The 
senior  guardian  wrote  on  the  8th  of  February  to 
the  district  officer,  Mr.  Spellman,  of  Peoria,  telling 
him  he  was  directed  to  investigate  this  matter,  and 
wanted  the  district  officer  to  appoint  an  investigat- 
ing committee.  On  the  i/th  of  February  Mr. 
Spellman  wrote  to  Beggs,  that  he  knew  of  no  law 
in  the  constitution  requiring  him  to  investigate,  and 
that  he  would  not  investigate  unless  charges  were 
made  directly  to  him.  On  the  i8th  of  February, 
Beggs  wrote  to  him  that,  although  there  was  no 
written  law,  yet  there  was  a  law  for  it,  and  that 
this  had  to  be  stopped,  or  he  feared  trouble  would 
grow  out  of  it. 

"  On  the  ipth  of  February  a  man  by  the  name  of 
Simons  appears  at  a  real  estate  office  on  Clark  street 
and  rents  a  flat  at  117  Clark  street,  opposite  the 
Opera  House  building.  He  said  he  wanted  to  have 
his  eyes  treated,  and  wanted  to  have  a  front  room 
on  account  of  the  light,  and  he  rented  the  whole  flat 
and  paid  forty  dollars.  That  was  just  across  the 
street  from  the  Opera  House  building,  in  which  Dr. 
Cronin  had  his  office.  This  man  Simons  then  went  to 
Revell  &  Co.  and  bought  a  bedstead  and  mattress,  a 
bureau  and  washstand  and  carpet  and  a  large  pack- 


338  THE   GREAT   CRONIN   MYSTERY 

ing  trunk.  Then  he  got  the  trunk  strapped.  This 
property  that  was  bought  was  moved  from  Revell's 
to  1 17  Clark  street.  Remember  that  these  men  all 
belonged  to  Camp  20,  of  which  Beggs  was  senior 
guardian.  We  will  prove  that  Burke  was  out  of 
employment  at  that  time,  and  that  he  was  doing 
nothing  where  he  could  earn  a  dollar;  that  Carlson 
had  a  vacant  cottage ;  that  Burke  paid  twelve  dollars 
and  took  a  receipt  for  a  month's  rent,  and  gave  his 
name  as  Frank  Williams.  He  went  directly  from 
there  to  P.  O'Sullivan  and  told  him  that  he  had  rented 
it.  He  removed  the  furniture  into  the  Carlson  cot- 
tage, and  we  will  have  the  expressman  hereto  show 
that  Burke,  together  with  another  man,  moved  it  out 
there  and  carried  it  into  the  cottage.  We  will 
prove  that  he  came  back  about  the  2Oth  of  April 
and  paid  another  month's  rent,  and  at  that  time  he 
said  his  sister  was  sick  and  in  the  hospital,  and  that 
he  could  not  go  to  housekeeping;  that  at  that  time 
Carlson  wanted  to  carry  out  a  lounge  that  had  been 
left  by  another  tenant,  and  he  helped  him  to  move 
it,  and  that  Carlson  saw  the  carpet  there,  and  saw 
the  trunk  there  on  the  2Oth  of  April. 

"  Following  that,  we  will  show  that  Patrick  O'Sul- 
livan—  something  had  to  be  done  to  induce  Dr. 
Cronin  to  go  to  this  cottage  —  made  this  contract, 
which  will  appear  in  evidence.  Prior  to  the  spring 
election  Dr.  Cronin  was  at  a  meeting  of  an  organi- 
zation called  the  Washington  Literary  Society,  and 
P.  O'Sullivan  acted  as  doorkeeper.  Two  weeks 
afterward  —  after  the  city  election,  so  that  places  it 
In  April  —  Justice  Mahoney  went  with  O'Sullivan 

Cronin  Mystery  22 


THE  TRIAL  339 

to  introduce  him  to  Dr.  Cronin,  for  the  purpose  of 
making  a  contract  for  the  doctor  to  treat  his  ice- 
men. We  shall  show  that,  up  to  the  time  the  con- 
tract was  made  with  Dr.  Cronin,  O'Sullivan  never 
had  an  accident,  and  never  had  any  occasion  for  a 
doctor;  that  there  were  any  number  of  doctors 
between  Cronin's  and  O'Sullivan's  places ;  that 
Coughlin,  who  was  a  bitter  enemy  of  Dr.  Cronin, 
was  a  close  associate  of  O'Sullivan  —  so  that  there 
was  no  reason  why  there  should  be  any  love 
between  any  of  these  men,  or  for  O'Sullivan  to  go 
and  employ  Dr.  Cronin  to  treat  his  icemen.  The 
contract  was  made  in  April  —  but  here  I  will  stop 
the  discussion  as  to  O'Sullivan,  and  take  up  another 
branch. 

"  It  will  appear  in  evidence  that  Daniel  Z. 
Coughlin  was  seen  in  a  saloon  with  O'Sullivan  late 
one  night.  They  were  drinking  together,  and 
Coughlin  declared  that  a  North  Side  leading  Catho- 
lic would  soon  bite  the  ground  —  that  he  would 
soon  be  out  of  the  way.  Now,  remember  that  we 
will  prove  that  on  the  4th  of  May  Coughlin  was  in 
the  neighborhood  of  the  Carlson  cottage  with  a 
man  who  fills  the  description  of  the  one  who  drove 
the  doctor  to  his  death.  We  will  show  that  he 
was  recognized  a  short  distance  from  the  cottage  by 
a  man  with  whom  he  had  done  business.  We  will 
prove,  that,  on  the  4th  of  May,  Coughlin  was  tele- 
phoned to  by  O'Sullivan  to  go  out  to  the  house. 
That  was  in  the  forenoon.  And  in  the  afternoon  we 
see  him  in  company  with  a  man  who  fills  the  descrip- 
tionoftheonewhodroveDr.  Cronin  away  to  be  killed. 


34O  THE   GREAT  CRONIN   MYSTERY 

On  that  same  day  Coughlin  went  over  to  Dinan's 
livery  stable  between  eleven  and  one  o'clock. 
The  officers  of  the  Chicago  Avenue  Station  had 
been  in  the  habit  of  doing  business  with  Dinan. 
Coughlin  told  Dinan  that  he  had  a  friend  who 
would  come  for  a  horse  and  buggy  that  evening. 
Dinan  thought  it  was  all  right,  and  asked  what 
kind  of  a  horse  and  buggy  the  man  would  want, 
and  Coughlin  answered,  'Almost  any  kind.'  What 
else?  About  7:15  in  the  evening  of  the  4th  of 
May  a  man  goes  to  the  livery  stable  and  wants  the 
horse  that  Coughlin  had  ordered  for  him.  When 
it  was  hitched  up  he  objected  to  the  rig,  but,  on 
being  told  that  that  was  the  only  one  he  could  have, 
he  took  it  and  drove  directly  to  the  Conklin  house, 
which  was  only  a  few  blocks  away.  He  was  there 
five  minutes  after  he  left  the  stable.  He  rushed 
up  to  the  doctor's  room,  presented  O'Sulli van's 
card,  said  O'Sullivan  was  out  of  town,  that  a  man 
had  had  his  leg  mashed,  and  the  doctor  was  wanted 
right  away.  Dr.  Cronin  was  informed  what  was 
wanted;  he  laid  the  iceman's  card  on  the  bureau, 
hurried  into  the  buggy,  and  drove  out  to  the 
Carlson  cottage.  This  was  about  7:20  in  the 
evening. 

"  We  will  prove  that  Coughlin  was  seen  going 
into  the  Carlson  cottage;  we  will  prove  that  the 
man  drove  Dr.  Cronin  to  the  Carlson  cottage;  that 
the  horse  and  buggy  that  took  him  there  were 
hired  at  Dinan's  livery  stable  for  that  purpose,  and 
that  Dan  Coughlin  was  the  man  who  hired  the  horse 
and  buggy. 


THE   TRIAL  34 1 

"  On  the  night  of  the  3d  of  May  there  was  a  meet- 
ing of  Camp  20.  Recollect  that  it  was  on  the  4th 
that  those  other  things  occurred;  but  we  will  prove 
that  on  the  night  of  the  3d  some  one  at  a  regular 
meeting  of  Camp  20  inquired  whether  that  commit- 
tee, or  a  secret  committee,  had  reported.  He 
made  this  inquiry  of  John  F.  Beggs,  the  senior 
guardian  of  the  camp,  and  Beggs  waved  his  hand 
and  said:  '  That  committee  is  to  report  to  me;  the 
camp  has  nothing  to  do  with  it.'  That  we  will 
establish  beyond  a  doubt.  On  the  night  before 
Cronin  was  taken  away  to  be  murdered  Beggs  said: 
'That  committee  reports  to  me,  the  senior  guardian, 
and  not  to  the  camp.' 

"  We  will  prove  that  Coughlin  told  other  parties 
that  Dr.  Cronin  was  a  spy.  We  will  prove  that  a 
year  before  he  tried  to  hire  a  man  to  slug  Dr. 
Cronin,  showing  that  his  mind  was  against  the 
doctor  prior  to  the  murder.  We  will  show  that 
the  trunk,  bought  at  Revell's  and  taken  to  the  Carl- 
son cottage  was  rilled  with  the  body  of  Cronin, 
placed  in  the  wagon,  and  show  the  points  where  it 
struck  on  its  journey;  that  it  landed  in  Edge  water 
near  the  lake,  where  the  driver  told  the  watchman 
that  they  were  looking  for  the  lake  shore  drive; 
that  the  watchman  told  him  where  the  lake  shore 
drive  was;  that  they  drove  back  to  Evanston  road; 
and  that  the  trunk  was  found  just  three-quarters 
of  a  mile  from  the  catch-basin  where  the  doctor's 
body  was  deposited.  The  key  that  unlocked  the 
trunk  was  found  in  the  Carlson  cottage,  covered 
with  some  of  the  paint  found  on  the  floor.  I  can- 


342  THE   GREAT   CRONIN   MYSTERY 

not  go  into  the  details  of  the  evidence,  but  I  want 
to  go  as  far  as  possible,  because  it  is  due  the  de- 
fense to  know  what  we  shall  present.  We  expect 
to  show,  that,  after  it  was  discovered  that  a  white 
horse  drove  the  doctor  away,  Dinan  went  to  the 
Chicago  Avenue  Station  to  see  Captain  Schaack, 
and  Coughlin  met  him,  and  said:  '  Don't  mention 
anything  about  that  horse  and  buggy,  because 
Cronin  and  I  were  not  on  good  terms.' 

"  We  will  follow  that  up  by  showing  what  Cough- 
lin's  feelings  were  toward  Dr.  Cronin.  We  will 
show  that  Martin  Burke,  under  the  name  of  Williams, 
hired  the  cottage,  and  that  a  man  appeared  there 
after  the  murder  (Patrick  Cooney)  and  wanted  to 
pay  another  month's  rent.  The  old  lady  would 
not  take  it,  because,  as  the  cottage  was  not  to  be 
occupied,  she  did  not  want  to  take  any  more  rent. 
Burke  did  not  return  the  keys  to  the  cottage,  and 
on  the  1 8th  of  May  a  letter  was  received  from 
Indiana,  in  which  he  (Burke)  said :  'I  am  sorry  we 
had  to  give  up  the  building,'  and  explained  about 
painting  the  floor.  We  will  show  that,  when  the 
men  failed  to  move  in,  Mr.  Carlson  asked  O'Sulli- 
van  the  reason  why.  O'Sullivan  says,  '  Haven't 
you  got  the  rent?'  'Yes,'  said  Mr.  Carlson. 
'Then,' said  O'Sullivan,  'what  is  the  use  of  your 
worrying?'  Mr.  Carlson  says,  'Do  you  know 
him?'  And  O'Sullivan  says,  'I  know  one  of 
them.'  We  will  prove  that  O'Sullivan  was  seen  at 
a  certain  place,  the  name  of  which  I  cannot  give, 
on  the  night  of  the  4th.  He  made  statements  that 


THE   TRIAL  343 

he  was  in  his  house  that  night,  but  he  was  not  in 
the  house  at  the  time  of  the  murder. 

"  As  to  Coughlin,  there  will  be  other  evidence  as 
to  dates  and  circumstances.  It  will  be  shown  that 
Beggs,  after  the  disappearance  of  Dr.  Cronin,  said, 
in  conversation  with  two  men  who  thought  the 
doctor  was  killed,  '  I  know  better  than  that,  he  will 
turn  up  all  right,  you  are  not  in  the  inner  circle; 
you  don't  know  what  is  going  on.'  Then,  you  will 
remember  that  on  the  6th  day  of  May,  Martin 
Burke  appears  at  a  tinsmith's  with  a  box,  the  con- 
tents of  which  he  will  not  permit  the  tinner  to  see. 
Remember  that  Dr.  Cronin's  clothes  were  not  on 
his  body  when  it  was  found.  Where  that  box  has 
gone  no  one  knows,  but  it  is  a  circumstance  in  the 
case. 

"  As  to  Kunze,  we  will  prove  that  he  was  seen 
in  the  flat  on  Clark  street  at  the  time  it  was  occu- 
pied by  those  parties.  He  was  seen  at  the  window 
washing  his  feet.  We  will  prove  that  a  short  time 
before  the  murder,  Kunze  was  seen  in  company 
with  Dan  Coughlin  on  Lincoln  avenue,  and  that 
Coughlin  told  a  person  that  Kunze  was  his  friend. 
We  will  show  that  on  the  night  of  the  murder, 
Kunze  drove  Coughlin  from  the  cottage;  that  Kunze 
disappeared  from  the  North  Side  in  April,  and  was 
employed  as  a  painter  on  the  South  Side,  under  an 
assumed  name.  We  will  prove  that  he  and  Cough- 
lin were  associated  together,  and  that  is  about  the 
evidence  we  have  in  reference  to  Kunze.  He  stated 
to  a  man  on  the  South  Side,  when  the  papers  were 
stating  it  was  doubtful  as  to  whether  Dr.  Cronin 


344  THE   GREAT   CRONIN   MYSTERY 

was  murdered,  that  he  (Kunze)  knew  the  doctor 
was  murdered,  but  he  never  would  be  found,  or  an 
expression  of  that  kind." 

At  this  point  of  his  address  (11:45)  Mr.  Longe- 
necker  suggested  to  the  court,  that  he  might 
shorten  his  speech,  if  he  were  given  the  usual  time 
for  the  afternoon  session  to  look  over  the  facts  a 
little  more;  and,  there  being  no  objections  made 
by  the  defense,  a  recess  was  taken  until  two  o'clock. 

When  the  court  reassembled  in  the  afternoon, 
the  State's  Attorney  resumed  his  address,  grouping 
again  in  a  large  measure  the  points  of  evidence 
against  the  respective  defendants.  He  said: 

"  I  will  make  my  statements  as  brief  as  possible. 
Before  lunch  I  was  talking  about  the  evidence  in 
the  case,  and  called  attention  to  the  fact,  that  on 
the  morning  of  the  6th  of  May,  two  days  after 
Cronin  was  killed,  Martin  Burke  appeared  at  the 
tinner's  establishment  to  have  a  box  sealed  up. 
The  tinner  undertook  to  raise  the  lid  to  clean  out 
some  dirt,  but  Burke  told  him  not  to  open  it,  and, 
in  order  to  solder  it  up,  he  put  a  band  around  it. 
Having  read  the  papers  on  Sunday,  which  an- 
nounced that  Dr.  Cronin  had  disappeared,  the 
tinner  mentioned  the  fact  to  Burke,  who  said,  '  Oh, 

the ,  he  was  a  spy;  he  will  turn  up 

all  right,'  or  words  to  that  effect.  Of  course,  what 
was  said  at  that  time  is  only  binding  in  reference  to 
himself.  I  neglected  something  in  telling  about 
the  contract  with  P.  O'Sullivan.  I  want  you  to 
bear  in  mind  the  fact  that  Coughlin  was  a  bitter 
enemy  of  Cronin's,  and  that  P.  O'Sullivan  was  an 


THE   TRIAL  345 

intimate  friend  of  Coughlin;  that  they  were  to- 
gether on  the  night  when  he  spoke  about  the 
prominent  Irishman  being  put  out  of  the  way; 
that  they  were  telephoning  to  each  other;  seen 
together  at  different  points;  that  they  were 
members  of  the  same  camp.  Remember  the 
fact  that  they  were  intimate  friends,  whereas 
Coughlin  and  Cronin  were  enemies,  and  every 
chance  he  had  to  declare  his  hatred  of  Cronin, 
Coughlin  took  advantage  of.  On  the  2pth  of 
March  O'Sullivan  hunted  for  Justice  Mahoney  to 
get  him  to  introduce  him  to  Dr.  Cronin.  Mahoney 
could  not  be  found  at  that  time,  but  two  weeks 
later  he  got  Mahoney,  and  they  went  down  to  the 
doctor's  office  together  to  make  the  contract  to 
treat  the  icemen.  There  was  a  gentleman  in  the 
doctor's  office  at  the  time.  After  they  had  passed 
the  compliments  of  the  day,  Cronin  asked  them 
their  business,  and  they  said  they  wanted  to  see 
him  on  a  private  matter,  whereupon  the  other  gen- 
tleman stepped  out  of  the  room.  At  that  time 
O'Sullivan  gave  the  doctor  some  of  his  cards,  and 
stated  that  he  would  send  one  of  such  cards,  when 
his  services  were  needed,  so  that  the  doctor  would 
know  where  to  go.  The  night  the  doctor  was  sent 
for,  one  of  O'Sullivan's  cards  was  presented.  The 
man  who  presented  the  card,  of  course,  knew  the 
arrangements  with  Cronin  —  that  he  was  to  go  to 
the  iceman's  on  a  presentation  of  that  kind.  The 
man  stated  that  O'Sullivan  was  out  of  town,  and 
that  one  of  his  employes  was  dangerously  hurt; 
his  leg  was  crushed. 


346  THE   GREAT   CRONIN   MYSTERY 

"  On  the  evening  of  the  4th  of  May  Martin  Burke 
was  seen  on  the  front  steps  of  the  cottage,  and  bid 
the  time  of  day  to  old  man  Carlson.  Late  on  the 
evening  of  that  day,  following  the  meeting  of  Camp 
20  on  the  night  of  the  3d,  another  person  was  inside 
of  the  cottage.  After  everything  was  removed,  so 
far  as  Cronin  and  the  trunk  were  concerned,  Mrs. 
Carlson,  who  is  proud  in  regard  to  keeping  the 
yard  and  walk  in  good  order,  went  to  sweep  the 
walk  running  along  the  front  of  the  cottage.  She 
noticed  on  the  steps  something  that  she  supposed 
to  be  preserves.  She  supposed  the  people  had 
moved  in,  and  broken  a  jar,  and  then  swept  it  off. 
She  thought  nothing  more  of  it  until  after  the  dis- 
covery of  what  transpired  in  the  cottage.  The  rent 
had  been  paid  up  to  the  2Oth  of  May,  and  two  par- 
ties appeared  to  pay  another  month's  rent,  when 
Mrs.  Carlson  declined  to  receive  it,  stating  she 
wanted  the  house  occupied.  On  the  i8th  of  May 
they  got  this  letter  from  Indiana,  but,  as  they  sup- 
posed they  had  no  right  to  enter  the  cottage  until 
the  time  was  up,  they  did  not  enter  the  cottage 
until  the  2Oth,  that  being  the  time  the  rent  of  the 
cottage  expired.  At  that  time  the  Carlson  people 
entered  the  cottage  by  raising  the  window.  They 
found  the  floor  painted;  they  found  blood  on  the 
walls;  footprints  in  the  hall,  where  a  man  had 
stepped  on  the  threshold  on  the  painted  floor,  and 
they  found  a  general  disarrangement  of  every  par- 
ticle of  furniture  in  the  house.  The  carpet  was 
taken  up;  it  was  on  the  floor  when  young  Carlson 
was  in  on  the  2ist.  This  will  all  be  introduced  in 


THE  TRIAL  347 

evidence.  The  Carlsons  reported  the  fact  the  next 
day  to  the  police,  telling  of  the  condition  of  the 
floor  and  the  blood-stains  scattered  around.  They 
found  that  the  trunk  was  then  absent.  The  key 
that  unlocked  the  trunk  was  under  the  bureau,  with 
some  of  the  paint  on  it.  The  arm  of  the  rocking- 
chair  was  broken,  and  everything  indicated  that  a 
struggle  had  taken  place  in  the  building. 

"  Another  thing  I  omitted  to  state  this  morning, 
in  reference  to  Kunze  was,  that  a  short  time  before 
the  murder  he  was  in  company  with  some  parties 
in  a  saloon  near  Patrick  O'Sullivan's,  and  exhibited 
a  note  of  O'Sullivan's,  saying  that  he  had  sold  him 
a  horse,  or  something  of  that  kind,  showing  the 
intimate  acquaintance  of  Kunze  with  O'Sullivan. 
Then,  there  is  another  item  in  reference  to  Coughlin. 
Dan  Coughlin,  Martin  Burke,  Kunze,  and  other 
parties  in  this  case  —  whether  P.  O'Sullivan  was 
present  or  not — were  seen  together  on  the  5th  of 
May  in  a  certain  saloon,  in  which  the  man  who  fills 
the  description  of  the  one  who  drove  Dr.  Cronin 
away  was  introduced  by  Coughlin.  So  we  see  the 
association  of  these  men  was  intimate  pricr  to  the 
murder,  and  the  next  day  some  of  them  met  and 
talked  together. 

"  This  is  about  the  evidence  in  the  case;  I  am 
not  going  into  all  the  details,  but  simply  state  prom- 
inent parts  with  reference  to  the  individuals.  I 
believe  I  mentioned  this  forenoon  that  the  wagon 
was  driven  out  to  Edgewater.  There  were  three 
men  on  the  wagon,  two  sitting  on  the  trunk,  and 
one  driving.  They  were  seen  at  three  different 


348      THE  GREAT  CRONIN  MYSTERY 

points.  Just  half  a  mile  from  Edgewater  is  where 
the  catch-basin  is  located  in  which  the  body  was 
found,  and  about  three-quarters  of  a  mile  south  of 
that  on  the  same  road,  coming  toward  the  city,  the 
trunk  was  found  besmeared  with  blood.  In  the 
trunk  was  also  some  cotton  batting.  When  the 
doctor  was  called  for,  he  grabbed  his  instruments 
and  some  cotton  batting,  and  was  driven  away  in 
the  buggy.  Cotton  batting  was  found  in  the  trunk; 
cotton  batting  was  found  in  the  catch-basin.  After 
the  discovery  of  the  body  and  its  identification, 
Martin  Burke  disappeared;  he  travels  under  an 
assumed  name  and  is  arrested  in  Winnipeg,  in 
Manitoba,  on  this  charge  of  murder,  and  extradited. 
He  had  a  ticket  to  Liverpool  with  him.  All  this  is 
evidence  against  Burke;  flight  is  always  considered 
in  a  case  of  murder  or  any  other  crime. 

"  I  believe  I  have  gone  over  the  main  points  of 
the  evidence.  Of  course,  there  will  be  evidence 
here  and  there  showing  conclusively  that  this  con- 
spiracy was  well  planned,  and  showing  conclusively 
to  your  minds  before  you  are  ready  to  render  your 
verdict  that  these  defendants  are  guilty.  I  said 
this  was  a  conspiracy.  Any  one  who  looks  at  the 
evidence  can  see  very  readily  that  the  acts  com- 
mitted of  themselves  are  conclusive  that  the  mur- 
der was  the  result  of  a  conspiracy.  When  Dr. 
Cronin's  body  was  found  the  head  was  cut  in  a 
dozen  places  —  from  behind  and  on  the  temple  — 
showing  that  they  had  killed  him  by  giving  him  lick 
after  lick  until  his  life  was  beaten  out.  All  that 
will  be  described  by  the  doctors;  the  condition  of 


THE  TRIAL  349 

the  body  shows   that  the   blows  were   dealt   from 
behind. 

"  Now,  a  conspiracy  is  made  up  of  certain  acts 
by  individuals,  either  together  or  separate,  and 
every  act  that  was  done  by  either  of  these  parties 
necessary  to  carry  out  the  object  of  the  conspir- 
acy binds  the  others  who  were  in  the  conspiracy. 
For  instance,  if  a  conspiracy  existed,  then  the  act 
of  Coughlin  in  hiring  the  horse  was  the  act  of 
Burke,  the  act  of  Sullivan,  or  the  act  of  Beggs,  or 
any  other  person  who  engaged  in  that  conspiracy. 
The  renting  of  the  cottage  by  Burke,  under  the 
name  of  Williams,  was  the  same  as  if  they  had  all 
gone  there  and  rented  it.  The  going  over  to  P. 
O'Sullivan's  to  tell  him  they  had  rented  the  cottage 
was  the  going  over  of  all  those  interested  in  the 
conspiracy,  and  so  in  making  the  contract  with  Dr. 
Cronin.  IfO'Sullivan  made  a  contract  and  those 
other  parties  were  in  the  conspiracy,  and  that  was 
a  part  of  the  conspiracy,  then  they  all  entered  into 
that  contract  as  part  of  the  work  to  be  done. 
Every  act  that  was  done  by  either  of  those  parties 
before  the  commission  of  the  crime  is  the  act  of 
all,  if  you  believe  there  was  a  conspiracy  to  kill 
Dr.  Cronin. 

"  Another  thing  I  wish  to  call  attention  to,  and 
that  is  that  the  accessory  is  the  same  as  the  princi- 
pal. It  does  not  matter  whether  either  of  these 
parties  struck  the  deadly  blow;  it  does  not  matter 
whether  they  were  a  thousand  miles  away  from  the 
cottage  —  if  it  was  a  conspiracy  and  they  were 
accessories  to  the  crime,  then  they  are  principals  to 


350  THE   GREAT   CRONIN   MYSTERY 

the  crime  just  as  much  as  if  they  helped  to  strike 
the  deadly  blow.  For  instance,  three  men  may 
enter  into  a  conspiracy,  knowing  that  you  have 
$1,000  in  your  house.  You  may  live  between 
Thirtieth  and  Thirty-first  streets,  on  State.  The 
three  men  go  to  rob  your  house.  One  stands  at 
Thirtieth  street,  and  the  other  at  Thirty-first  street, 
and  the  other  goes  in  and  robs  you  of  your  money. 
All  of  these  three  men  have  committed  burglary. 
The  men  who  stood  on  the  street  corners  are  just 
as  guilty  as  the  man  who  went  inside  for  the  pur- 
pose of  stealing  your  money. 

"  When  you  take  this  evidence  into  considera- 
tion, when  you  take  the  fact  that  this  man  Cough- 
lin  hired  the  horse,  and  another  fact,  that  after  Dinan 
had  gone  to  the  station  and  Coughlin  said:  '  Don't  say 
anything  about  me  engaging  the  horse  and  buggy; 
you  may  get  me  into  trouble,  because  Cronin  and 
I  were  not  good  friends  ;  '  when  you  consider  that 
he  claimed  that  the  man  for  whom  the  horse 
and  buggy  were  hired  was  named  Smith  ;  that  he 
was  sent  out  to  hunt  Smith,  and  saw  Smith  and  let 
him  go  ;  when  you  consider  the  hiring  of  the  flat  at 
117  Clark  street,  the  buying  of  the  furniture  and 
trunk  and  the  strap,  the  renting  of  the  cottage,  the 
contract  between  the  doctor  and  this  man  O'Sul- 
livan ;  the  statement  that  a  sister  was  to  be  there 
to  occupy  the  cottage  ;  the  driving  of  the  doctor 
from  his  home  under  the  supposition  that  he  was 
going  to  minister  to  the  wants  of  an  injured  man  ; 
the  appointment  of  a  secret  committee  by  Dan 
Coughlin  to  have  the  committee  appointed  ;  the  fact 


W.  S.  Forrest,  leading  attorney  for  the  defense. 


W  H.  Foster,  Beggs'  attorney. 


THE  TRIAL  35 1 

that  the  senior  guardian  said  that  the  committee 
reported  to  him,  and  not  to  the  camp  ;  the  statements 
that  Dr.  Cronin  was  a  spy  ;  the  grouping  together 
of  all  these  things  makes  the  conspirators  as  guilty 
as  if  the  murder  was  the  act  of  one  man. 

"  And,  gentlemen,  if,  after  hearing  this  evidence, 
you  are  satisfied  that  Dr.  Cronin  was  murdered;  if 
you  are  satisfied  from  this  evidence  that  this  thing 
had  been  deliberated  upon  from  the  8th  day  of 
February,  or  from  the  I9th  day  of  April,  when 
they  rented  the  flat  on  Clark  street,  and  all  those 
deliberations  to  take  away  the  life  of  this  man 
Cronin;  the  appointment  of  a  secret  committee; 
the  attempt  to  make  it  appear  that  the  society  was 
trying  this  man  as  a  disguise  to  those  who  might 
not  approve  of  such  work  ;  all  these  things,  if  they 
are  proved  to  you,  if  it  appears  in  evidence  that 
this  great  deliberation  was  had,  that  this  great  con- 
spiracy was  concocted  as  we  claim,  that  this  man's 
life  was  taken  away,  as  we  shall  prove  —  if  all  this 
satisfies  your  minds,  then  your  duty  will  be  plain  ; 
then  you  can  give  the  correct  answer  to  the  ques- 
tion as  to  whether  you  have  conscientious  scruples 
against  the  death  penalty.  Gentlemen,  we  will 
present  this  evidence  as  rapidly  as  possible,  but  I 
trust  you  will  be  patient  with  us  in  this  case.  It  is 
a  matter  that  concerns  the  people  as  well  as  the 
defendants.  We  will  present  it  as  rapidly  as  we 
can,  consistent  with  doing  our  duty;  and,  when  you 
have  heard  this  evidence,  if  you  are  not  satisfied 
that  Dr.  Cronin  was  murdered  ;  if  you  are  not  sat- 
isfied that  these  men,  whether  present  at  the  killing 


352  THE   GREAT   CRONIN  MYSTERY 

of  the  doctor,  or  whether  only  present  in  the  con- 
spiracy; if  you  are  not  satisfied  that  they  are 
guilty  of  the  charge,  then,  of  course,  turn  them 
loose.  But,  if  this  evidence  shows  this  deep-laid 
conspiracy;  shows  its  premeditation;  shows  the 
coolness  with  which  they  planned  it ;  if  it  convinces 
your  minds  beyond  a  reasonable  doubt  that  they 
are  guilty,  then  your  duty  is  claimed  to  inflict  upon 
them  the  highest  penalty  of  the  law." 

It  was  2:35  when  Mr.  Longenecker  completed 
his  address.  When  he  sat  down  the  lawyers  for 
the  defense  announced  that  they  would  postpone 
their  replies  until  the  close  of  the  trial. 

EXAMINING   THE    WITNESSES. 

• 

At  the  suggestion  of  Mr.  Forrest,  for  the  defense, 
the  witnesses,  with  the  exception  -of  Messrs.  Hol- 
land and  Beck,  newspaper  reporters,  were  ordered 
by  the  judge  to  be  separated  and  excluded  from 
the  court-room. 

The  work  of  examining  witnesses  was  then  begun, 
the  examination  of  the  State  being  conducted  by 
Mr.  Ingham,  and  that  of  the  defense  by  Mr.  Forrest. 
The  prosecution  at  once  set  out  to  prove  the 
corpus  delicti,  it  having  been  asserted  that  the  de- 
fense would  contend  that  the  body  dragged  from 
the  catch-basin  had  not  been  satisfactorily  identi- 
fied as  that  of  Dr.  Cronin.  Ex-Captain  Francisco 
Villiers,  a  nervous  little  Frenchman  with  sparkling- 
eyes,  was  the  first  witness.  He  had  known  the 
doctor  for  three  years  and  identified  the  body 
the  instant  he  saw  it.  James  Boland,  who  met 


THE   TRIAL  353 

the  doctor  every  day  for  a  year  and  a  half; 
Joseph  C.  O'Keefe,  a  tailor,  who  made  Dr.  Cronin's 
clothes,  and  reporter  James  P.  Holland,  were  also 
positive  that  the  body  was  that  of  Dr.  Cronin. 
Barber  H.  F.  Wisch,  who  used  to  shave  the  doctor, 
and  who  saw  him  one  hour  before  he  took  his  fatal 
ride,  swore  that  there  was  no  doubt  in  his  mind  as 
to  the  identity  of  the  corpse  he  saw  in  the  Lake 
View  morgue.  Stephen  Conley  identified  the  body 
by  the  front  teeth,  Maurice  Moris  by  the  "  Agnus 
Dei,"  and  Joseph  O'Byrne  by  the  broken  finger  of 
the  right  hand.  The  skillful  cross-examination  of 
Mr.  Forrest  showed  that  it  was  the  hope  of  the  de- 
fense to  secure  from  the  State's  witnesses  admissions 
that  the  body  was  badly  swollen  and  discolored,  and 
thus  establish  tangible  grounds  for  the  supposition 
that  it  would  be  difficult,  if  not  impossible,  to  identify 
abodyunderthose  conditions.  All  of  the  witnesses 
admitted  that  the  body  was  swollen,  and  that  the 
hair  on  the  head  and  the  mustache  had  been  nearly 
destroyed,  but  all  were  enabled  to  identify  the  body 
by  its  physical  peculiarities,  the  contour  of  the  face, 
and  little  imperial  close  to  the  lower  lip.  The 
cursory  cross-examination  of  these  witnesses  by 
Mr.  Forrest  soon  convinced  the  officers  of  the 
State  that  the  defense  would  enter  no  serious  dis- 
pute as  to  identity  of  the  body.  But  Mr.  Forrest 
did  make  a  bold  effort  to  prove  that  the  wounds  on 
the  doctor's  head  were  inflicted  in  the  removal  of 
the  body  from  the  catch-basin.  Henry  Rosch  the 
sturdy  German  who  first  discovered  the  body,  was 
on  the  stand,  and  Mr.  Forrest  endeavored  by  sub- 


354  THE   GREAT  CRONIN  MYSTERY 

tie  questioning  to  draw  from  the  witness  the  admis- 
sion, that,  when  he  assisted  in  drawing  the  body 
from  the  hole  by  means  of  a  blanket,  which  was 
tied  under  the  arms,  the  head  bumped  against  the 
bricks.  Rosch  swore  that  the  only  portion  of  the 
body  that  touched  the  masonry  was  the  breast. 
Notwithstanding  these  answers,  Mr.  Forrest,  evi- 
dently misconstruing  the  language  of  the  witness 
in  his  description  of  the  construction  of  the  basin, 
tried  to  establish  the  theory,  that,  with  the  head 
under  one  side  of  the  foundation  and  completely 
shut  out  from  vision,  it  would  be  impossible  to 
remove  the  body  without  violent  effort  and  conse- 
quent peril  of  mutilation.  The  witness,  however, 
retold  the  story  of  the  discovery,  with  illustrations, 
and  showed  the  impossibility  of  any  portion  of  the 
human  body  to  get  under  the  masonry.  He  was 
positive,  that,  with  the  possible  exception  of  the  loss 
of  some  of  the  hair,  the  body  was  in  no  way  disfig- 
ured in  its  removal  from  the  basin.  A  bloody 
towel  was  tied  about  the  neck,  and  a  bushel  of  blood- 
stained cotton  was  removed  from  the  surface  of  the 
water  which  had  covered  a  large  portion  of  the 
body. 

Court  adjourned  until  ten  o'clock  next  morning, 
October  25th. 

And  thus  closed  the  first  day  of  the  trial  of  the 
five  men,  Martin  Burke,  Daniel  Coughlin,  John  F. 
Beggs,  Patrick  O'Sullivan,  and  John  Kunze,  under 
indictment  for  the  murder  of  Dr.  Patrick  Henry 
Cronin.  The  vast  crowd  of  men  and  women  who 
had  early  in  the  morning  of  that  eventful  day 

Cronin  Mystery  23 


THE  TRIAL  355 

wedged  their  way  through  the  compact,  writhing 
mass  of  humanity  that  thronged  the  entrance  of  the 
Criminal  Court  building  on  Dearborn  avenue,  and 
succeeded,  in  spite  of  the  frantic  efforts  of  the 
bailiffs  to  keep  them  out,  in  finding  seats  or  stand- 
ing places  in  the  court-room,  scrambled  again  for 
the  doors,  seemingly  as  eager  now  to  get  out  of 
the  big,  gloomy  building  as  they  were  to  wedge 
their  way  into  it  in  the  morning.  It  had  been  a 
day  of  thrilling  excitement  to  them,  and  it  is  safe 
to  say  that  most  of  them  had  reached  a  verdict  of 
guilty  as  to  each  and  all  of  the  defendants.  Every- 
thing favored  the  prosecution.  The  newspapers 
had  worked  up  the  matter  to  a  fever  heat,  and  the 
atrocious  manner  in  which  Dr.  Cronin  had  been 
done  to  his  death  had  prejudiced  the  minds  of  the 
entire  community  against  any  man  and  any  thing 
that  there  was  the  least  suspicion  of  having  had  any 
connection  whatever  with  the  terrible  crime.  Not- 
withstanding the  fact  that  the  prosecuting  attorney 
had,  in  his  opening  address  to  the  jury,  candidly 
cautioned  them  that  they  were  not  called  upon  to 
try  the  Clan-na-Gael  organization,  and  that,  if, 
after  they  had  heard  the  evidence,  they  were  not 
satisfied  that  the  men  under  trial  for  the  murder  of 
Dr.  Cronin  were  guilty  of  the  charge,  they  were  to 
turn  the  prisoners  loose,  it  is  safe  to  say,  consider- 
ing the  mutterings  of  the  crowd,  that  not  only  the 
five  men  under  trial,  but  the  entire  Clan-na-Gael 
organization,  had,  in  the  minds  of  a  majority  of  the 
motley  crowd  that  thronged  the  court-room  at  the  end 
of  that  first  day  of  the  trial,  been,  "  beyond  any 


356  THE   GREAT  CRONIN   MYSTERY 

reasonable  doubt  "  on  the  ex-parte  statement  of  the 
case  by  the  State's  Attorney,  convicted  of  conspir- 
acy and  murder.  But  the  jury — God  help  them 
to  abide  by  their  oath  to  weigh  all  the  evidence 
before  reaching  a  verdict  —  moved  silently  from 
the  court-room,  and  made  no  sign. 

SECOND    DAY    OF   THE   TRIAL. 

Herald's  summary: 

The  two  Fifth  Precinct  policemen  who  were  sta- 
tioned at  the  foot  of  the  Dearborn  street  entrance 
to  the  Criminal  Court  building  did  not  have  much 
trouble  in  controlling  the  crowd  that  sought  admis- 
sion to  the  Cronin  trial.  A  cold,  rain-laden  wind 
was  blowing  off  the  lake,  and  the  streets  were  deep 
with  mud.  These  conditions  served  to  keep  most 
men  and  women  at  their  regular  posts.  There  were 
plenty  of  seats  for  the  spectators  during  the  two 
interesting  sessions  of  the  court,  and  at  no  time 
was  there  a  crush  at  the  doors.  Inside  the  court- 
room the  air  was  damp  and  cold.  Bailiffs  walked 
around  in  overcoats,  and  the  women  who  clean  the 
rooms  wore  scarfs  about  their  necks.  Smoke,  fog 
and  rain  clouds  so  darkened  the  room  that  the 
incandescent  lights  were  turned  on  in  mid-day. 
The  first  thing  Beggs  did  when  he  dropped  into  his 
seat  at  the  head  of  the  prisoners'  box  was  to  glance 
nervously  over  a  morning  newspaper.  Coughlin 
and  O'Sullivan  did  not  appear  to  notice  the  specta- 
tors who  were  craning  their  necks  in  an  effort  to 
catch  a  glimpse  of  the  famous  suspects.  Burke 
and  Kunze,  however,  showed  their  apprecia- 


THE  TRIAL  357 

tion  of  the  attention  they  were  receiving  by 
grinning  at  the  women  who  were  banked  in 
three  benches  at  the  east  end  of  the  room. 
Later  in  the  day  these  two  prisoners  began  a 
flirtation  with  a  girl,  and  were  laughing  heartily 
over  their  conquest,  when  Lawyer  Forrest,  who 
hopes  to  clear  them  of  the  charge  of  conspiracy  to 
murder,  commanded  them  to  cease  their  merri- 
ment. During  this  exhibition  by  his  client,  long- 
haired Senator  Kennedy,  of  Wisconsin,  sat  facing 
the  court,  with  his  feet  spread  out  upon  the  table 
before  him.  Lawyer  Foster,  who  is  defending 
nobody  but  ex-Senior  Warden  Beggs,  was  reading 
a  novel.  The  public  prosecutors  were  more  alert. 
Longenecker,  Hynes,  Mills  and  Ingham  each  con- 
ducted a  portion  of  the  examination.  The  cross- 
examiners  were  Forrest  and  Judge  Wing. 

There  were  three  distinct  branches  in  the  exam- 
ination. The  first  was  a  continuation  of  the  State's 
proof  of  the  corpus  delicti.  The  second  point  the 
prosecution  sought  to  establish  was  that  the  body 
received  no  wounds  in  its  removal  from  the  catch- 
basin  on  the  lonely  Evanston  road.  The  third 
branch  of  the  interesting  inquiry  was  the  effort  of 
the  State  to  prove  by  expert  testimony  that  the 
wounds  on  Dr.  Cronin's  head  were  sufficient  to 
cause  death.  The  defense  made  a  pretense  at 
breaking  the  power  of  the  testimony  on  the  first 
points,  and  then,  failing  in  this,  made  a  vigorous 
onslaught  on  the  evidence  of  the  experts.  This 
would  seem  to  indicate  that  the  defense  will  com- 
bat every  theory  set  up  by  the  prosecution. 


THE   GREAT   CRONIN   MYSTERY 

As  the  investigation  as  to  the  identification  of 
the  body  proceeds,  it  is  clearly  shown  that  Mr.  For- 
rest still  clings  to  the  idea  that  the  corpse  found 
in  the  catch-basin  may  have  been  that  of  a  man 
who  in  life  never  knew  Dr.  Cronin.  The  idea  is 
based  on  the  theory  that  the  body  was  so  swollen 
and  so  discolored  that  it  was  impossible  to  identify 
the  features.  Mr.  Forrest's  efforts  to  support  his 
theory,  have  been  wofully  unsuccessful.  Nearly  a 
score  of  the  friends  of  the  murdered  man  have 
sworn  that  they  had  no  trouble  in  identifying  the 
body.  Some  of  them  were  assisted  in  their  labor 
by  the  physical  peculiarities  of  the  doctor,  which 
were  afterward  found  in  death.  Others  recognized 
the  corpse  by  its  teeth,  by  the  contour  of  the  face, 
by  the  length  of  the  body,  by  the  hair  upon  the 
wrists,  and  by  the  "  Agnus  Dei  "  the  doctor  wore. 
There  has  naturally  been  some  discrepancy  in  the 
testimony  of  so  many  witnesses  as  to  the  extent  of 
the  swelling  of  the  body  and  the  ravages  of  decom- 
position. But,  despite  the  disintegration  which  had 
set  in  beneath  the  cuticle,  the  witnesses  were  posi- 
tive in  their  identification.  T.  T.  Conklin,  the 
little  nervous  saloon  keeper,  with  whom  Dr.  Cronin 
boarded  for  nearly  eleven  years,  identified  the  body 
by  physical  peculiarities.  Big  John  F.  Scanlan 
knew  the  body  by  the  arms  and  shoulders  and  the 
little  tuft  of  hair  which  grew  beneath  the  doctor's 
lower  lip.  Frank  Scanlon,  who  saw  the  doctor 
an  hour  before  he  was  butchered,  recognized  the 
body  by  the  teeth.  Patrick  McGarry  knew  that 
the  body  was  that  of  Dr.  Cronin  by  the  long, 


THE   TRIAL 


359 


slender  hands.  But  the  most  interesting  testimony 
presented  by  the  State  in  its  effort  to  prove  the 
identity  of  the  corpse  taken  from  the  catch-basin 
was  given  by  dentist  E.  W.  Lewis.  His  evidence 
clinched  the  identification,  if  such  a  thing  were 
needed.  Dr.  Lewis  had  treated  Dr.  Cronin's  teeth, 
and  had  made  a  peculiar  and  experimental  plate 


MEDICAL   WITNESSES. 

with  four  small  teeth  for  the  four  lower  central 
incisors,  which  had  been  drawn.  The  extraction 
of  these  teeth  had  left  an  unnatural  or  uneven 
absorption,  which  Dr.  Lewis  noticed  when  he 
made  the  plate.  It  was  the  habit  of  Dr.  Cronin 
when  in  deep  thought  to  remove  the  old  plate  he 
used,  and  twirl  it  between  his  fingers.  That  was 
why  Dr.  Lewis  made  an  experimental  plate  that 
could  not  be  easily  removed.  He  was  desirous  of 


360      THE  GREAT  CRONIN  MYSTERY 

breaking  Dr.  Cronin  of  his  habit.  Dr.  Lewis  had 
also  prepared  the  right  back  bicuspid  for  crowning, 
and  filled  the  lower  second  molar  with  red  rubber 
filling.  When  the  body  of  Dr.  Cronin  lay  in  the 
morgue  of  the  Lake  View  Police  Station,  Assistant 
County  Physician  Egbert,  who  was  conducting  the 
autopsy,  removed  a  peculiar  plate  of  false  teeth 
from  the  mouth  of  the  corpse.  When  Dr.  Lewis 
beheld  it,  he  immediately  pronounced  it  the  identi- 
cal plate  he  had  made  for  Dr.  Cronin.  Then  Dr. 
Lewis  went  to  the  undertaker's  rooms  on  Chicago 
avenue,  where  the  body  had  been  taken  after  the 
autopsy.  It  was  eight  o'clock  at  night  when  he 
reached  the  corpse.  With  a  flood  of  gaslight 
streaming  down  upon  the  body,  he  compared  the 
plaster  of  paris  cast  of  the  peculiar  plate  with  the 
formation  of  the  jaw.  One  look  satisfied  him  that 
the  plate  had  been  made  for  it. 

"  What  else  did  you  see  in  the  mouth  of  the 
corpse?  "  asked  Mr.  Mills,  with  great  impressiveness. 

"  The  rest  of  my  work,"  was  the  sensational 
reply  of  the  witness.  "  I  saw  the  bicuspid  I  had 
prepared  for  crowning,  and  the  molar  with  its  filling 
of  red  rubber.  I  also  noticed  the  absorption  of 
the  lower  jaw,  which  was  so  noticeable  in  life." 

This  testimony  had  a  remarkable  effect  on 
jurors,  prisoners  and  spectators.  Even  Kunze 
ceased  his  laughing.  The  jurors  leaned  forward, 
and  looked  at  the  four  tell-tale  teeth  and  their 
queer-looking  plate,  as  the  dentist  held  them 
in  his  hand.  The  lawyers  for  the  defense  were 
clearly  disturbed.  They  grouped  themselves  for  a 


THE  TRIAL  361 

hurried  consultation.  Mr.  Forrest  led  the  cross- 
examination.  It  was  short,  and  failed  to  shake  the 
positiveness  of  the  witness  as  to  the  identity  of  the 
teeth. 

Then  came  Assistant  County  Physician  Egbert, 
who  swore  he  removed  the  plate  he  held  in  his 
hand  from  the  mouth  of  the  corpse,  and  since  the 
autopsy  the  ghastly  looking  relic  had  been  locked 
in  his  safe.  Thus  far  Dr.  Egbert  had  been  a  satis- 
factory witness  for  the  State.  But  the  wily  cross- 
examiner  scored  a  point  before  the  doctor  left  his 
seat.  One  of  the  four  false  teeth  on  the  plate  was 
broken.  Concealing  the  plate  behind  his  back,  and 
walking  hurriedly  to  the  witness'  chair,  Mr.  Forrest 
asked  Dr.  Egbert  in  a  loud  voice  whether  the 
broken  tooth  was  at  the  right  or  left  end  of  the 
plate.  The  witness  hesitated  for  a  moment,  and 
then  said  it  was  at  the  right  end  of  the  plate. 

"  Are  you  sure?  "  asked  Mr.  Forrest,  advancing 
nearer  the  witness. 

Dr.  Egbert  nodded  affirmatively.  Then  Mr. 
Forrest  presented  the  teeth  for  Dr.  Egbert's  inspec- 
tion. The  broken  tooth  was  at  the  left  end  of  the 
plate.  The  witness  looked  crestfallen,  while  the 
prisoners  grinned  as  the  triumphant  cross-examiner 
hurried  past  the  jurors  to  join  his  colleagues.  The 
mistake  the  doctor  had  made  was  not  damaging  or 
very  material,  but,  when  he  swore,  in  reply  to  a 
question  from  Mr.  Forrest,  that  to  the  best  of  his 
belief  the  plate  he  removed  from  the  mouth  of  the 
corpse  in  the  morgue  had  a  broken  tooth  at  the 
right  end  the  prosecutors  looked  annoyed.  Mr 


362  THE   GREAT   CRONIN    MYSTERY 

Forrest  then  dismissed  the  witness  with  a  pompous 
sweep  of  his  hand.  He  had  made  his  first  impres- 
sion on  the  wall  of  identification  which  the  State 
had  set  up.  But  upon  the  re-direct  examination, 
conducted  by  Mr.  Hynes,  Dr.  Egbert  swore  that 
he  was  positive  that  the  plate  Mr.  Forrest  held  in 
his  hand  was  the  one  he  had  removed  from  the 
mouth  of  the  body.  There  will  be  more  witnesses 
to  prove  the  corpus  delicti. 

The  effort  of  Mr.  Forrest  to  nourish  the  theory 
that  the  body,  however  it  may  have  been  in  life, 
had  been  mutilated  in  its  removal  from  the  catch- 
basin,  was  not  crowned  with  much  success.  The 
only  witness  who  caused  him  any  encouragement 
at  all  was  John  Fenneger,  a  ruddy-faced  German, 
who  had  a  very  imperfect  understanding  of  the 
English  language.  Fenneger  was  one  of  the  men 
who  discovered  the  body.  He  was  an  easy  prey  to 
the  cross-examiner,  who  tangled  him  so  completely 
that  the  audience  laughed  at  the  irrelevant  and 
humorous  replies  of  the  witness.  The  German  was 
clearly  "  rattled,"  and  said  many  things  which  he 
no  doubt  did  not  mean  to  say.  He  swore  that  the 
police  first  tried  to  drag  the  body  out  of  the  basin 
with  their  hands,  but,  failing  in  this,  brought  a  fence 
board  and  a  hoe  into  requisition.  His  colleagues, 
however,  testified  that  the  body  was  removed  by 
poking  a  folded  horse  blanket  beneath  the  arms 
with  a  hoe  handle,  the  blanket  afterward  being 
crossed  at  the  back,  and  then  drawn  up  from  either 
side.  Ex-Captain  of  Police  Wing  and  Officer  Malie, 
who  had  charge  of  the  work,  also  swore  that  this 


THE   TRIAL  363 

method  was  adopted,  and  that  no  fence-board  or 
violence  was  used.  Even  Fenneger  testified  that 
the  body  was  handled  with  such  care  that  the  skin 
was  not  broken. 

DR.  EGBERT'S  EXHIBITION. 

Then  came  the  effort  of  the  State  to  prove  that 
the  wounds  on  the  doctor's  head  were  sufficient  to 
cause  death.  Dr.  Egbert  was  the  first  witness. 
As  he  walked  to  the  witness  chair  he  carried  with 
him  the  stomach  of  Dr.  Cronin,  and  the  vegetable 
matter  which  was  found  in  it  at  the  autopsy.  The 
stomach  was  in  a  jar  of  alcohol.  Its  contents  at 
the  time  of  the  autopsy  were  in  a  piece  of  red, 
flimsy  paper.  Dr.  Egbert  again  proved  unsatis- 
factory to  the  State.  He  had  but  a  vague  recol- 
lection of  many  essential  incidents  of  the  autopsy, 
and  was  painfully  embarrassed.  In  reply  to  ques- 
tions from  the  prosecution,  he  testified  that,  in  his 
opinion,  death  had  resulted  from  the  many  wounds 
on  the  head.  The  cross-examination  was  con- 
ducted by  Judge  Wing.  It  was  exhaustive,  and 
not  unsatisfactory  to  the  defense.  The  skull  had 
not  been  fractured,  and  the  neck  was  not  dislo- 
cated. It  was  evident  that  the  doctor  had  died 
within  three  hours  after  eating,  as  some  corn  which 
was  found  in  the  stomach  had  not  been  digested. 
There  were  no  external  manifestations  of  de- 
composition, although  the  body  was  badly 
swollen.  Judge  Wing  discussed  each  wound, 
and  drew  from  the  witness  the  admission  that  not 
one  of  the  cuts  was  necessarily  fatal,  inas- 


364      THE  GREAT  CRONIN  MYSTERY 

much  as  they  had  not,  according  to  Dr.  Egbert's 
investigation,  severed  a  single  artery  or  fractured 
the  skull.  Death  might  have  resulted  from  concus- 
sion or  contusion  of  the  brain,  but  the  autopsy 
failed  to  reveal  this  to  be  a  fact,  as  the  brain  matter 
was  destroyed  by  disintegration.  Thedoctormight 
have  bled  to  death  if  the  flow  of  blood  was  not 
stopped,  and  Dr.  Egbert,  in  the  course  of  his  rambling 
testimony,  left  it  to  be  inferred  that  that  was  the 
opinion  he  held,  notwithstanding  the  fact  that  there 
was  blood  in  the  heart  —  a  scientific  refutation  of 
such  a  claim.  The  witness  was  satisfied  that  the 
doctor  had  not  died  of  natural  causes,  as  all  of  the 
vital  organs  were  found  to  be  in  a  healthy  condi- 
tion. The  witness  also  admitted  that  all  the  wounds 
could  be  inflicted  without  producing  unconscious- 
ness or  concussion.  He  was  of  the  opinion,  how- 
ever, that  the  wound  near  the  base  of  the  brain 
would  render  a  man  insensible.  He  could  net  de- 
termine, from  the  appearance  of  the  wounds,  whether 
they  were  inflicted  before  or  after  death. 

The  advantage  gained  by  the  defense  from  the 
testimony  of  the  assistant  county  physician  was 
greatly  weakened  by  Dr.  Charles  F.  Perkins,  who 
wielded  the  knife  over  the  body.  This  witness 
proved  of  inestimable  value  to  the  State,  and  his 
recital  was  as  interesting  in  its  ghastly  details  as 
that  of  dentist  Lewis.  Dr.  Perkins  declared  with- 
out hesitation,  that,  to  his  mind,  Dr.  Cronin  had 
died  of  concussion  of  the  brain,  produced  by  blows 
on  the  head  from  a  blunt  instrument.  A  sharp 
weapon,  without  a  stroke,  could  not  produce  con- 


THE   TRIAL  365 

cussion.  One  proof  that  the  doctor  had  died  from 
concussion  was  destroyed  by  disintegration,  as  a 
microscopical  examination  of  the  brain  was  some- 
times necessary  to  determine  the  existence  of  con- 
cussion. In  this  case  such  an  examination  was  im- 
possible, owing  to  the  liquid  condition  of  the  brain. 
But  there  was  another  proof  left  to  the  surgeons,  and 
that  was  to  be  found  in  the  condition  of  the  heart. 
Eminent  authorities  had  declared,  that,  in  cases  of 
concussion,  the  right  side  of  the  heart  was  invariably 
filled  with  blood,  while  the  left  side  was  drained  of 
the  fluid.  This  was  the  case  of  Dr.  Cronin,  and 
the  discovery  of  this  fact  convinced  the  witness  that 
the  man  had  died  from  concussion.  Dr.  Perkins 
also  declared  that  the  incision  on  the  jaw  had  sev- 
ered the  facial  artery,  and  that  one  of  the  wounds 
on  the  back  of  the  head  had  cut  the  occipital  artery. 
The  hemorrhage  from  these  wounds  must  have 
been  great,  and  would  no  doubt  have  produced 
death  had  not  the  injury  the  brain  sustained  proved 
fatal.  There  might  have  been  contusion  and  com- 
pression of  the  brain  as  well  as  concussion,  but  this 
could  not  be  determined  at  the  autopsy,  owing  to 
the  ravages  of  decomposition. 

Judge  Wing  was  severely  nettled  at  the  scientific 
and  damaging  recital  of  the  witness,  and,  in  a  petu- 
lant way,  asked  Dr.  Perkins  why  he  did  not  sink 
his  knife  until  he  found  the  severed  arteries.  The 
witness  replied,  that,  being  satisfied,  from  the  loca- 
tion of  the  incisions,  that  the  facial  and  occipital 
arteries  were  cut,  and  knowing  that  blood-vessels 
retract  when  severed,  he  deemed  it  unnecessary  to 


366  THE   GREAT   CRONIN    MYSTERY 

make   a   further   investigation.     The   witness  was 
then  hurriedly  dismissed  by  the  defense. 

THIRD   DAY   OF   THE   TRIAL. 

It  was  again  cold  and  dismal  around  the  Criminal 
Court  building  when  the  Cronin  case  was  resumed. 
'Rain  splashed  against  the  windows,  and  the  day 
grew  so  dark  that  the  electric  lamps  were  lighted. 
Notwithstanding  the  storm,  a  large  crowd  besieged 
the  Dearborn  street  entrance,  and  howled  for  admis- 
sion. Men  and  women  were  flanked  along  the 
brick  walk,  and.  received  the  pelting  the  rain  gave 
them  without  any  evidence  of  discomfort.  When 
the  prisoners,  led  by  ex-Senior  Guardian  Beggs, 
tramped  into  the  room  from  the  slippery  bridge  of 
sighs,  every  seat  reserved  for  spectators  was  occu- 
pied. Many  women,  whose  bonnets  and  wraps 
had  been  disarranged  by  the  storm,  were  on  the 
long  black  benches  at  the  Dearborn  street  side  of 
the  room.  Among  them  was  the  silly  girl  who  has 
been  carrying  on  a  flirtation  with  Kunze  and  Burke. 
She  smiled  at  all  the  prisoners  as  they  marched  in 
single  file  to  their  chairs. 

Court  was  in  session  just  two  hours  and  a  half. 
In  that  time  the  prosecutors  introduced  two  rare 
witnesses,  and  successfully  combated  a  remarkable 
ruling  by  Judge  McConnell.  They  did  not  attempt 
to  present  any  additional  evidence  as  to  the  identity 
of  the  body  found  in  the  catch-basin  on  the  Evans- 
ton  road,  or  to  strengthen  their  almost  invulnerable 
proof,  that  the  corpse  was  not  injured  in  its  removal 
from  the  basin  to  the  Sheffield  Avenue  Police  Sta- 


THE   TRIAL  367 

tion.  They  did,  however,  continue  their  inquiry 
as  to  the  cause  of  Dr.  Cronin's  death,  and  suc- 
ceeded in  substantiating'  all  the  sensational  and 
vital  points  made  by  surgeon  Perkins,  who  removed 
the  viscera  and  the  top  of  the  skull  of  the  body  at 
the  autopsy.  Dr.  D.  G.  Moore  was  placed  on  the 
stand.  He  assisted  in  the  dissection.  His  pres- 
ence in  the  witness  chair  was  clearly  a  surprise  to 
the  lawyers  for  the  defense.  Dr.  Moore  did  not 
testify  at  the  coroner's  inquest  or  before  the  grand 
jury,  and  he  made  no  deposition  in  the  extradition 
of  Burke.  Mr.  Forrest,  drawing  these  admissions 
from  the  witness,  objected  to  giving  testimony,  but 
the  court  promptly  overruled  the  objection,  and  the 
doctor  began  his  ghastly  story  of  the  appearance 
of  the  wounds  and  the  condition  of  the  viscera. 
These  gashes,  the  witness  was  convinced,  were 
necessarily  mortal.  Death  had  come  from  con- 
cussion or  contusion  of  the  brain,  and  not 
from  hemorrhage  caused  by  the  severing  of 
the  facial  and  occipital  arteries.  These  blood- 
vessels, the  autopsy  showed,  were  cut,  as  they 
had  retracted,  and  could  not  be  found.  While 
a  strong  man  could  bleed  to  death  from  the  sever- 
ing of  these  arteries,  dissolution  would  not  be 
speedy,  as  these  vessels  are  small.  Death  had 
doubtless  come  from  the  shock  the  brain  received 
and  while  the  hemorrhage  was  yet  in  progress.  A 
thorough  examination  of  the  viscera  showed  no 
signs  of  ante-mortem  degeneration.  There  was 
another  proof  that  the  doctor  had  died  from  vio- 
lence. The  brain,  however,  was  gone.  Cross-ex- 


368  THE   GREAT   CRONIN  MYSTERY 

aminer  Forrest,  with  his  grim  face  wrinkled  in  a 
smile,  asked  if  there  were  not  some  ground  for  be- 
lieving that  Dr.  Cronin  died  suddenly  of  acute  brain 
trouble.  This  was  a  new  move  by  the  defense. 
The  witness  declared  that  the  healthy  condition  of 
the  viscera  was  in  itself  a  convincing  refutation  of 
such  an  assertion.  Then  Mr.  Forrest  suggested 
the  possibility  of  sudden  death  from  chronic  brain 
trouble,  and  asked,  provided  such  were  the  fact,  if 
the  surgeons  who  conducted  the  autopsy  could  de- 
termine it  by  the  appearance  of  the  brain.  As 
there  had  been  no  brain  to  examine,  Dr.  Moore 
was  unable  to  combat  this  strange  theory.  The 
witness  was  satisfied,  from  the  contused  condition 
of  the  wounds,  that  they  had  been  inflicted  before 
death.  In  his  opinion  it  was  impossible  to  leave  any 
contusion  about  a  scalp  wound  made  after  death. 
Mr.  Forrest,  still  looking  for  a  cudgel  with  which 
to  break  the  damaging  testimony  of  the  surgeon, 
was  rewarded  a  moment  later  by  drawing  from  the 
witness  the  admission  that  he  had  but  a  few  hours 
before  read  the  newspaper  reports  of  Dr.  Egbert's 
testimony  of  the  previous  day.  Then  Mr.  Forrest 
created  a  sensation  by  moving  that  Dr.  Moore's 
entire  testimony  be  stricken  from  the  record. 

Judge  McConnell,  to  the  amazement  of  nearly 
everybody  in  the  room,  sustained  the  motion.  A 
dramatic  scene  followed,  and  suppressed  exclama- 
tions of  surprise  burst  from  the  audience.  Mr. 
Forrest,  with  a  triumphant  smile,  walked  hurriedly 
past  his  associates  and  sipped  a  glass  of  water. 
For  an  instant  the  public  prosecutors  were  dumb- 


THE   TRIAL  369 

founded.  Mr.  Hynes  was  the  first  to  contest  the 
ruling.  His  face  was  crimson  with  excitement  as 
he  drew  his  massive  form  above  the  table  at  which 
he  was  sitting,  and  in  a  loud  voice  declared,  that,  if 
such  an  unprecedented  ruling  were  followed,  the 
trial  might  just  as  well  stop  then  and  there.  Rais- 
ing his  arm  so  that  his  clinched  fist  was  on  a  level 
with  the  bar  of  the  court,  Mr.  Hynes  challenged 
Judge  McConnell  to  show  authorities  to  sustain 
such  a  ruling.  Beside  the  big  lawyer  was  Luther 
Laflin  Mills,  pale  with  emotion.  Almost  before 
Mr.  Hynes  had  finished  his  thundering  attack,  the 
clear,  resonant  voice  of  Mr.  Mills  arose  above  the 
noise  of  the  street  and  the  mumbling  of  the  audi- 
tors. He,  too,  declared  that  it  was  time  to  stop 
the  case  if  the  testimony  of  the  rest  of  the  State's 
witnesses  was  to  be  excluded  for  the  reason  that 
they  had  read  the  testimony  of  witnesses  who  had 
preceded  them  on  the  stand.  State's  Attorney 
Longenecker  nervously  watched  the  fight  being 
waged  by  his  associates.  Hurrying  down  the  center 
aisle  were  Mr.  Ingham  and  Mr.  Scanlan,  who  were 
on  their  way  to  the  State's  Attorney's  office  for 
authorities.  Judge  McConnell  sat  in  his  chair 
with  his  head  in  his  hand.  Before  him  were 
Mr.  Hynes  and  Mr.  Mills,  the  first  red  and  valiant 
in  attack,  the  other  almost  startling  in  his  pallor. 
The  prisoners  leaned  forward  and  watched  the 
struggle  with  intense  interest.  The  prosecutors 
had  scarcely  resumed  their  seats  to  watch  the  effect 
of  their  first  volley  when  Mr.  Forrest  arose  and  inti- 
mated that  Dr.  Moore  had  been  called  at  the 

Cronin  Mystery  24 


370      THE  GREAT  CRONIN  MYSTERY 

eleventh  hour  to  patch  up  the  holes  in  the  testi- 
mony of  Assistant  County  Physician  Egbert.  This 
was  a  taunt  that  brought  Mr.  Hynes  and  Mr.  Mills 
to  their  feet  again,  and  called  forth  a  censure  from 
the  court.  Judge  McConnell,  speaking  in  a  low 
voice,  then  said,  that,  if  such  a  ruling  was  enforced 
in  its  spirit,  there  would  be  no  reason  for  continu- 
ing the  case,  but  he  did  not  contemplate  such  a 
course.  Mr.  Hynes,  seeing  that  the  court  was 
retreating,  now  leaped  to  his  feet,  and,  with  a  burst 
of  rhetoric  that  came  very  near  provoking  applause 
in  the  benches,  declared  that,  with  such  a  ruling  as 
that  delivered  from  the  bench,  the  testimony  of  hon- 
orable men  who  would  appear  for  the  State,  and 
who  could  not  be  influenced  by  newspaper  reports, 
would  be  excluded,  while  the  testimony  of  perjur- 
ers who  would  swear  that  they  had  not  read  the 
newspaper  accounts  of  the  trial  would  go  on  record. 
As  the  big  lawyer  sat  down,  Mr.  Ingham  and  Mr. 
Scanlan  returned  with  law  books  piled  high  upon 
their  arms.  But  the  battle  was  now  over,  and  the 
prosecution  had  won.  With  much  deliberation  and 
a  gratuitous  encomium  on  the  press  for  its  enter- 
prise and  influence,  Judge  McConnell  reversed  his 
previous  decision  and  ruled  that  the  testimony  of 
witnesses  who  had  read  the  newspaper  reports  of 
the  testimony  of  other  witnesses  was  competent,  and 
that  it  must  be  admitted.  Mr.  Forrest  thereupon 
took  an  exception  to  the  admission  of  Dr.  Moore's 
evidence. 


THE  TRIAL  3/1 

EVENTS    OF   MAY   4TH. 

After  this  sensation  was  over,  the  prosecution, 
making  a  sudden  shift  from  the  finding  of  the  body 
and  the  autopsy  of  the  events  of  May  4th,  the  day 
on  which  Dr.  Cronin  was  murdered,  introduced 
Patrick  Dinan,  the  liveryman,  who  rented  a  rig  to 
Coughlin's  mysterious  friend  on  the  fatal  night. 
The  story  of  the  witness  was  intensely  interesting, 
and  had  a  noticeable  effect  on  Coughlin,  who  moved 
uneasily  in  his  seat.  Dinan  had  known  Coughlin 
for  five  years.  On  May  4th  the  detective  came  to 
the  stable,  and  engaged  a  rig  for  a  friend,  who  was 
to  call  for  it  at  seven  o'clock  that  evening.  At  that 
hour  a  young  man,  who  was  closely  muffled  in  a 
faded  overcoat,  and  who  wore  a  soft  hat,  the  rim 
of  which  was  turned  down  so  as  to  conceal  the 
eyes  of  its  wearer,  called  at  the  stable,  and  asked 
for  the  rig  which  Coughlin  had  engaged.  This 
stranger's  trousers  were  frayed  at  the  bottom,  his 
boots  were  muddy,  and  his  mustache  was  dark  at 
the  roots,  but  sandy  at  the  edges.  He  also  had 
about  a  week's  growth  of  beard.  Dinan  called  for 
an  old  white  horse  for  the  stranger,  and  the  beast 
was  harnessed  to  a  buggy,  which  had  a  White- 
chapel  body.  The  stranger  found  fault  with  the 
rig,  and  suggested  that  he  be  given  a  chestnut 
horse  which  stood  in  the  stable.  But  Dinan  refused 
to  make  the  change.  The  stranger  was  also  opposed 
to  the  buggy  assigned  to  him,  because  it  had  no  side 
curtains.  Dinan  said  the  night  was  dark,  and,  with 
the  top  up,  his  customer  could  easily  escape  recog- 
nition from  the  street,  if  he  so  desired.  The  strange 


372  THE    GREAT   CRONIN    MYSTERY 

man  drove  out  of  the  barn  at  7:10  o'clock.  He  went 
directly  north  and  in  the  direction  of  Dr.  Cronin's 
home.  Dinan  watched  the  horse  pass  Chestnut 
street,  and  saw  that  he  was  working  in  good  form. 
That  was  the  last  he  saw  of  the  rig  until  the  next  day. 
Two  days  after  the  disappearance  of  Dr.  Cronin, 
Dinan  went  to  the  East  Chicago  Avenue  Police  Sta- 
tion to  see  Captain  Schaack  about  a  visit  he  had 
received  from  a  policeman,  who  had  asked  him  if 
he  had  had  a  white  horse  out  on  the  night  of  the 
murder.  There  he  met  Coughlin,  who,  noticing 
the  liveryman's  excitement,  asked  him  what  kind  of 
a  horse  he  had  given  his  friend.  Dinan  replied  that 
the  animal  was  white.  Then  Coughlin,  becoming 
nervous,  requested  Dinan  to  keep  quiet  about  the 
transaction,  as  he  and  Dr.  Cronin  were  not  good 
friends,  and  an  exposure  of  the  deal  might  cause 
him  trouble.  Dinan,  however,  being  determined 
to  clear  up  the  mystery,  made  a  full  report  of  the 
transaction  to  Captain  Schaack.  The  next  time 
Dinan  met  Coughlin  the  latter  said  he  had  just  seen 
his  friend,  who  was  on  his  way  to  a  railway  station 
to  take  a  train  for  New  Mexico. 

Mr.  Forrest  made  repeated  efforts  to  have  the 
conversation  between  Dinan  and  the  stranger  at 
the  barn  stricken  from  the  record,  but  the  court 
overruled  all  of  his  motions. 

The  third  time  Dinan  met  Coughlin  was  soon 
after  Mrs.  Conklin's  failure  to  identify  the  old 
white  horse  as  the  animal  that  carried  the  doctor  to 
his  death.  Both  had  heard  of  the  incident,  and 
Coughlin,  being  exuberant,  exclaimed: 


THE   TRIAL  373 

"  I'd  hate  to  trust  you  with  anything  ;  you  are  a 
clear  case  of  a  weakener." 

Mr.  Forrest,  in  his  cross-examination  of  the  wit- 
ness, resorted  to  many  subterfuges  to  entrap  Dinan, 
but  the  latter,  being  blessed  with  a  remarkable 
memory,  could  not  be  shaken, 

Court  adjourned  until  ten  o'clock  Monday  morn- 
ing, October  28th. 

FOURTH   DAY   OF   THE   TRIAL. 

Napier  Moreland,  who  was  a  hostler  at  Dinan's 
livery  stable  on  May  4th,  was  the  first  witness 
called.  He  was  examined  by  Mr.  Mills.  After 
he  had  stated  that  he  was  at  work  in  the  stable  on 
the  night  of  the  murder,  he  was  questioned  by  Mr. 
Mills  as  follows: 

"  You  may  state  whether  or  not  any  person  called 
to  engage  a  horse  and  buggy  that  night. " 

"  No  one  called  to  engage  one,"  responded  the 
witness,  "  but  a  man  called  to  get  one  about  seven 
or  ten  minutes  after  seven  o'clock." 

"  Did  you  see  him?" 

"  Wait  a  minute,"  cried  Mr.  Forrest;  "  I  object 
to  everything  that  was  said  or  done  by  this  man 
who  called  for  the  horse  at  that  time.  I  would 
like  to  have  the  court  permit  us  to  make  one  gen- 
eral objection  and  save  exceptions." 

"  I  think  I  shall  let  it  in,"  said  the  court,  "  in 
view  of  what  I  know  of  the  circumstances." 

"  I  supposed  the  objection  to  Dinan's  testimony," 
remarked  Mr.  Hynes,  "  would  save  the  point." 


374  THE    GREAT   CRONIN    MYSTERY 

"  I  prefer  to  follow  our  own  course,"  said  Mr. 
Forrest,  and  the  exception  was  noted. 

"  Did  you  see  this  man?  "  continued   Mr.    Mills. 

"  Yes,  sir,"  responded  the  witness. 

"  Where  were  you  when  you  first  saw  him?  " 

"  I  was  in  the  stable,  at  about  the  center,  sweep- 
ing the  floor,  at  the  time. " 

"  State  what,  if  anything,  this  man  said  in  your 
hearing." 

"  He  asked  me  for  the  horse  that  had  been 
ordered.  I  told  him  I  didn't  know  anything  about 
the  horse  being  ordered.  I  said:  'You  will  have 
to  go  to  Mr.  Dinan.'  He  says:  'Where  is  Mr. 
Dinan?'  I  says:  '  He  is  out  in  front  somewhere.' 
So  the  man  went  out  of  the  stable  to  hunt  for  Mr. 
Dinan,  and  the  next  order  I  got  was  to  harness  the 
gray  horse." 

"  From  whom  did  you  get  this  order?  " 

"  From  Dinan;  he  hollered  that  in  the  door. 
The  man  was  out  on  the  carriage  floor  in  front  of 
the  stable  at  that  time.  " 

"  What,  if  anything,  did  this  man  say  as  to  the 
horse?  " 

"  When  I  brought  the  gray  horse  out  he  said  he 
didn't  want  that  white  horse.  He  said  -he  didn't 
want  that  horse  —  that  he  didn't  want  a  gray  or  a 
white  horse.  I  didn't  make  any  answer  to  him." 

"  Did  Mr.  Dinan  make-any  answer  to  him?  " 

"  Not  then;  he  was  talking  to  me,  not  to  Dinan, 
at  that  time.  When  Mr.  Dinan  came  up  he  said: 
'  Take  that  horse  back  and  send  the  other  one  out; 


THE  TRIAL  375 

don't  send  him  out  single.'  I  brought  back  the  old 
gray  and  harnessed  it." 

"  Did  you  know  this  man?  " 

"  No,  sir." 

"  You  may  state  whether  or  not  he  was  the  only 
man  who  took  that  horse  out  that  night." 

"  He  was  the  only  man  that  I  saw  that  night  who 
took  the  horse  out." 

"  What  kind  of  a  buggy  was  it?  " 

"  It  was  an  old  buggy,  pretty  well  worn  —  a  top 
buggy. " 

"  How  about  the  side  curtains?  " 

"  There  were  no  side  curtains  on  it." 

"  Do  you  remember  how  this  stranger  was 
dressed?  " 

"  He  had  a  faded  brown  coat  on — a  kind  of 
lightish  brown  color.  The  two  buttons  at  the  top 
were  worn  buttoned  up,  and  the  collar  was  turned 
up,  but  not  turned  up  high  enough  to  cover  his 
cheeks.  He  had  a  dark  hat  on,  the  color  of  it  was 
somewhat  similar  to  the  coat,  but  a  little  darker. 
It  was  a  soft  hat,  and  the  rim  was  high  —  two  inches 
wide,  I  guess.  The  crown  was  round,  a  little  flat- 
tened in  on  top." 

"  Did  you  notice  the  man's  face?  " 

"  A  little,  not  very  much.  He  had  a  dark  beard, 
and  a  light  brown  or  rather  auburn  mustache.  He 
looked  as  though  he  hadn't  been  shaved  for  four  or 
five  days.  His  face  was  dirty,  and  he  looked  like 
a  mechanic  returning  from  work. " 

On  motion  of  Mr.  Forrest  the  expression  "  looked 


376  THE    GREAT   CRONIN    MYSTERY 

like  a  mechanic  coming  from  work  "  was  stricken 
out. 

"  Did  you  see  that  horse  and  buggy  again  that 
night?  " 

"  I  saw  it  when  it  came  back,  about  half-past 
nine,  or  thereabouts.  It  was  on  the  wash-rack  in 
the  stable  when  it  came  in. " 

"  In  what  condition  was  the  horse  when -it  re- 
turned? " 

"  It  was  in  the  condition  of  a  horse  that  had  been 
driven  very  fast  for  the  length  of  time  that  he  was 
out.  He  was  sweating  all  over,  and  had  the  ap- 
pearance of  having  been  driven  very  fast.  His  nos- 
trils were  blowing  at  the  time  he  came  in." 

"  Did  you  examine  the  condition  of  the  buggy?  " 

"  Not  that  night;  I  did  on  Sunday  morning 
when  I  washed  it.  It  was  covered  with  sand  and 
boulevard  mud.  The  color  of  the  sand  was  a  kind 
of  dirty  yellow,  and  the  boulevard  mud  very  much 
like  putty. " 

"  Were  there  a  hitching  strap  and  weight  attached 
to  the  buggy  that  night?  " 

Objection  was  raised  to  this  question,  but  the 
court  overruled  it,  and  the  witness  answered: 

"  I  took  a  hitching-strap  and  an  eighteen-pound 
weight  out  of  the  buggy  next  morning,  when  I 
went  to  wash  it.  " 

"  State  what  you  saw  the  man  do,  if  anything, 
when  the  horse  and  buggy  returned  at  half-past 
nine  that  night.  " 

"  When  he  drove  in  I  was  on  the  wash-rack, 
and  my  back  was  toward  him,  but,  when  I  heard 


THE    TRIAL  377 

the  horse  stepping  on  the  floor,  I  looked  around, 
and  then  he  was  going  out.  He  was  then  a  little 
toward  the  door,  and  all  I  could  see  of  him  was 
his  back.  Whether  it  was  the  same  man  or  not  I 
could  not  say." 

"  Did  you  notice  his  hat?" 

"  It  looked  about  the  same  kind  of  hat.  He 
looked  to  be  a  man  about  five  feet  seven  or  eight. 
I  didn't  see  him  getting  out  of  the  buggy;  he  was 
out  of  it  and  going  out  of  the  stable  when  I  looked 
around." 

"  Did  you  see  him  speak  to  anybody? 

"No,  sir." 

"  Tell  us  as  to  how  he  went  out?  " 

"  He  went  out  in  a  business  way." 

"  Did  you  see  any  one  else  going  out  of  the 
stable  at  that  time?  " 

"  No,  sir.  There  was  a  gaslight  in  the  stable, 
almost  in  the  center  of  the  floor." 

"  Did  you  see  the  stranger  near  the  gaslight?" 

"  When  he  talked  to  me  about  the  horse,  he  was 
standing  with  his  back  toward  the  gaslight  in  the 
center  .of  the  floor,  which  would  be  about  forty 
feet  from  the  front  door." 

"  When  you  first  saw  this  stranger,  how  did  he 
wear  his  hat?  " 

"  His  hat  was  on  his  head  the  same  as  it  ought 
to  be." 

"  When  you  saw  him  near  the  gaslight,  how  did 
he  wear  it?  " 

"  He  had  it  pulled  over  his  face  this  way.  "  [The 


THE  GREAT  CRONIN  MYSTERY 

witness  pulled  his  own  hat  partly  over  his  eyes  and 

nose  to  indicate.] 

"  Was  his  coat  buttoned  or  unbuttoned?  " 

"  It  was  not  buttoned  from  the  second   button 

down.     It  was  hanging  loose  from  there."  " 


MRS.  CONKLIN  ON  THE  WITNESS  STAND. 
"  Did  you  examine  the  feet  of  the  horse?  " 
"  I  did  next  morning.     His  front  legs  above  the 
pastern    joint     were   skinned     considerably.      His 
hoofs  were  about  the  same  as  when  he  went  out. 
There  was  a  little  mud  on  the  feet,  and  a  little  sand 
mixed    in  with  it." 

A  motion  to  exclude  the  witness'  testimony,  on 
the  ground  which  caused  the  discussion  Saturday, 
was  overruled  and  Mr.  Forrest  cross-examined  the 


THE    TRIAL 


379 


witness  as  to  how  he  remembered  the  time  when 
the  horse  and  buggy  was  returned.  Witness  stated 
that  he  had  seen  the  clock  at  ten  minutes  to  nine, 
and  calculated  the  time  from  what  he  had  done  until 
the  rig  returned.  He  admitted  stating  before  the 
coroner's  jury  that  he  did  not  know  whether  there 


MRS.  CONKLTN,  ASSISTED  BY  THE  COURT,  LONGE- 
NECKER  AND  FORREST,  EXHIBITS  A  PLAN  OF 
HER  ROOMS. 

was  a  weight  in  the  buggy  or  not,  but  averred  that 
he  remembered  his  mistake  after  leaving  the  court- 
room. He  didn't  correct  that  mistake. 

Mrs.  T.  T.  Conklin,  with  whom  Dr.  Cronin 
boarded  in  the  Windsor  Theater  Block,  was  next 
called  and  examined  by  Judge  Longenecker.  She 
stated  that  Dr.  Cronin  made  his  home  with  her  in 


380  THE    GREAT   CRONIN    MYSTERY 

St.  Louis  before  she  came  to  Chicago,  and  had 
lived  in  her  family  in  this  city  about  eight  years. 
His  apartments  in  the  Windsor  Theater  Block  were 
on  the  south  side  of  the  hall,  fronting  on  Clark 
street.  They  had  been'  two  separate  flats,  and  were 
afterward  connected  for  her  use,  the  stairway  divid- 
ing the  north  from  the  south  portion,  She  saw  Dr. 
Cronin  there  about  five  o'clock  on  the  4th  of  May. 

"  Will  you  now  tell  the  court  what  occurred  after 
five  o'clock  in  your  place  in  reference  to  Dr. 
Cronin  ?  " 

"  I  object,"  said  Mr.  Forrest. 

"  As  to  his  movements  ? "  continued  Judge 
Longenecker. 

"  That  makes  the  witness  judge  of  the  admissi- 
bility  of  what  she  is  about  to  say , "  said  Mr.  Forrest. 

A  diagram  of  the  apartments  occupied  by  Mrs. 
Conklin  and  her  family  was  produced,  and  John  C. 
McDavitt,  who  made  the  diagram,  was  sworn,  and 
testified  to  its  accuracy. 

The  examination  of  Mrs.  Conklin  was  then 
resumed,  and  she  pointed  out  to  the  jury  the  rooms 
occupied  by  Dr.  Cronin.  They  were  a  front  room, 
or  reception-room,  with  a  bay  window  in  it  looking 
out  onto  Clark  street,  and  a  private  room  behind, 
with  sliding  doors  connecting  the  two. 

"  You  say  the  doctor  took  dinner  about  five 
o'clock  ?  " 

"  Between  five  and  six." 

"  Did  he  go  out  anywhere  after  that  hour  ?  " 

"  He  did." 

"Did  he  return  ?" 


THE   TRIAL  38"! 

"  He  returned  about  six  o'clock,  or  perhaps  a 
little  later.  He  was  in  his  office  after  he  came  into 
the  house.  He  had  a  number  of  patients  there 
during  the  evening.  His  office  hours  were  from 
6  to  7:30,  but  he  had  another  office  down  town  in 
the  Opera  House  Building.  His  morning  hours  at 
home  were  from  9:30  to  n. 

"  Was  he  called  away — did  any  one  call  for  him 
that  evening  ?  " 

"Yes,  sir." 

"  At  about  what  hour  ?  " 

"  At  about  7:20  he  was  called  to  go  out." 

"  Where  was  the  doctor  at  the  time  the  call  was 
made?  " 

"  He  was  in  his  private  room  —  his  private 
office?" 

"  Was  there  anyone  there  at  the  time  other  than 
yourself?  " 

"  Yes,  Miss  Mclnerny  was  in  the  reception-room. 
Dr.  Cronin  was  treating  her  sister  in  the  private 
room,  and  a  gentleman  was  waiting  in  our-parlor 
to  see  the  doctor." 

"  Will  you  now  state  what  was  said  and  done  at 
that  time  by  the  man  who  called  for  Dr.  Cronin  ?  " 

Mr.  Forrest  objected,  and  took  an  exception  to 
the  overruling  of  his  objection. 

"  I  saw  him  at  the  outer  door  leading  into  the 
south  room.  He  asked  if  Dr.  Cronin  was  in,  and  I 
said  '  He  is  here.'  '  Can  I  see  him  ?'  '  Yes,' I  said; 
'walk  in.'  He  hesitated,  without  replying.  I  said 
'  You  must  corne  in  if  you  wish  to  see  the  doctor^ 


382  THE   GREAT   CRONIN    MYSTERY 

because  he  is  engaged.'  With  that  he  came  into 
the  reception-room." 

"  I  make  a  special  objection,"  said  Mr.  Forrest, 
"  to  the  answer  that  he  hesitated." 

"  When  you  say  he  hesitated, "said  Judge  Longe- 
necker,  "  how  did  he  act?  What  did  he  do?  " 

"  He  waited,  and  did  not  come  in  when  I  asked 
him." 

"Well,  go  right  on." 

"  I  ushered  him  into  the  reception-room,  and 
gave  him  a  seat,  which  he  took  very  nervously." 

"  I  object  to  that,"  said  Mr.  Forrest,  and  Mr. 
Donahoe,  both  springing  to  their  feet  at  once. 

"  Describe  his  manner,"  said  Judge  Longe- 
necker. 

"  He  was  sitting  on  the  edge  of  the  chair. " 

"  I  would  like  to  have  the  court  instruct  the  wit- 
ness not  to  give  an  opinion,"  said  Mr.  Forrest. 

"  I  submit  that  it  is  description,"  said  Mr.  Mills, 
"  and  an  accurate  description. " 

"  You  may  take  an  exception,  Mr.  Forrest,  said 
the  court.  "  I  will  give  you  an  exception  upon  any 
point  upon  which  you  wish  to  take  it." 

"  Well,  that  is  satisfactory,"  said  Mr.   Forrest. 

"  Go  on  and  tell  how  he  acted,"  said  Judge  Lon- 
genecker. 

"  He  sat  on  the  edge  of  the  chair  in  a  rather  un- 
comfortable position.  I  rapped  on  the  door  which 
connected  with  Dr.  Cronin's  room,  and  said:  'Doc- 
tor, you  are  wanted.' ' 

"  Had  he  said  anything  to  you  before  that?  " 

"Coming  into  the  hall  he  said:  '  I  cannot  wait 


THE   TRIAL  383 

here;  I  am  in  a  hurry.'  I  said:  'Just walk  in,' and 
then  he  stepped  into  the  office.  When  I  said: 
'Doctor,  you  are  wanted  quickly,'  the  doctor  an- 
swered: '  In  a  moment,'  and  with  that  he  threw  open 
the  doors  and  came  out  to  meet  this  man.  The 
man  advanced  toward  Dr.  Cronin.  He  said:  '  Dr. 
Cronin,  you  are  wanted  to  attend  a  man;  he  has 
been  hurt  at  O'Sullivan's  ice  house.'  The  doctor 
made  some  remark  which  I  did  not  hear,  and  at 
that  moment  that  man  drew  a  card  from  his  pocket 
on  the  right  side  of  his  coat  and  presented  it  to 
Dr.  Cronin." 

"  Was  that  it?  "  said  Judge  Longenecker,  handing 
a  card  to  the  witness. 

"A  card  like  that." 

"  Do  you  expect  to  offer  this  in  evidence  ?  "  asked 
Mr.  Donahoe. 

"  Yes,  when  the  time  comes,"  replied  Judge 
Longenecker. 

"  I  want  to  know  now,"  said  Mr.   Donahoe. 

"Certainly  we  expect  to  offer  it  in  evidence," 
said  Judge  Longenecker.  "  She  is  now  telling  what 
was  done." 

"  He  handed  a  card  like  this,"  witness  proceeded, 
"  and  Dr.  Cronin  took  the  card,  and  asked  what 
was  the  nature  of  the  accident.  He  said:  '  A  man 
has  been  run  over  by  a  wagon,'  drawing  his  hand 
across  in  this  way  [the  witness  showed  how  the 
man  drew  his  hand  across  his  body].  The  doctor 
said:  '  I  will  be  with  you  soon,'  or  something  to 
that  effect,  and  the  man  sat  down  again  on  the  edge 


384  THE   GREAT   CRONIN    MYSTERY 

of  the  chair.  The  doctor  laid  the  card  on  the  man- 
telpiece. " 

"  What  was  said  about  Mr.  O'Sullivan,  if  any- 
thing? " 

"  The  man  said:  '  Mr.  O'Sullivan  is  out  of  town, 
and  left  word  that  you  were  to  attend  to  his  men.' 
He  said  that  in  drawing  this  card  from  his  pocket." 

"  Is  that  all  that  you  remember?  " 

"  The  man  also  said:  '  I  have  a  horse  and  buggy 
here  for  you.'  ' 

"  Is  that  all  you  remember  that  was  said  to  the 
doctor?  " 

"  That  is  all  that  I  remember.  He  said  some- 
thing else  to  the  man,  but  I  did  not  catch  it.  I 
heard  distinctly,  though,  every  word  that  I  have 
repeated.  The  doctor  sat  down  to  the  table  and 
wrote  a  prescription  for  this  young  lady,  and  gave 
it  to  her  just  as  rapidly  as  he  could  do  anything, 
and  then  he  ran  to  his  private  room  and  gathered 
together  some  bandages  and  cotton  batting  in  his 
arms  and  brought  them  out,  and  also  his  surgical 
case  and  a  case  of  heavy  splints,  and,  drawing  on 
his  coat  as  quickly  as  possible,  he  ran  out,  carrying 
these  things  in  his  arms.  " 

"  While  he  was  gathering  up  the  cotton  and 
these  bandages  and  splints,  where  was  this  individ- 
ual that  called  for  him  ?  " 

"  He  rose  from  the  chair  and  stood  on  the  floor 
waiting  for  the  doctor  to  get  his  coat  and  get  these 
things  together." 

"  Then  what  did  they  do  after  they  gathered  up 
these  things?" 


THE   TRIAL  385 

"  They  went  hurriedly  out  of  the  house  just  as 
fast  as  they  could  go.  I  could  hear  them  running 
down-stairs.  They  left  the  door  standing  open ; 
the  doctor  did  not  even  close  the  outside  door." 

"  Who  went  ahead  down-stairs  —  do  you  re- 
member? " 

"  The  man ;  and  the  doctor  followed.  I  in  the 
meantime  had  gone  into  the  bay  window  and  looked 
out  at  this  horse  and  buggy. " 

The  witness  exhibited  to  the  jury,  by  reference 
to  the  diagram ,  the  position  in  which  she  stood  look- 
ing out  of  the  south  window  of  the  north-side  front 
room.  She  proceeded  to  testify  that  the  horse 
was  facing  north,  so  that  she  could  see  him  dis- 
tinctly. The  night  was  clear,  and  the  electric  lights 
were  burning.  The  man  got  into  the  buggy  first, 
followed  by  Dr.  Cronin." 

"  How  did  they  sit  in  the  buggy  then?  " 

"  The  man  sat  on  Dr.  Cronin's  left,  facing'  north. 
He  seemed  to  feel  that  that  was  not  right,  and  got 
up  and  moved  across  in  front  of  Dr.  Cronin,  and 
sat  on  the  doctor's  right,  facing  north. " 

"  Did  you  see  any  one  there  near  the  buggy  at 
that  time  other  than  the  doctor  and  this  strange 
man?" 

"  I  did.  Mr.  Frank  Scanlon  stepped  up  to  the 
buggy  and  spoke  to  Dr.  Cronin.  It  was  impossible 
for  me  to  hear  what  they  said,  but  I  saw  them.  I 
saw  Dr.  Cronin  draw  something  from  his  pocket, 
it  was  a  bunch  of  »keys,  and  he  passed  them 
through  the  side  of  the  buggy,  through  the  up- 
rights that  hold  the  top  of  the  buggy  up.  He 

Cronin  Mystery  25 


386  THE   GREAT   CRONIN    MYSTERY 

almost  threw  them  to  Mr.  Scanlon,  and  Mr.  Scan- 
Ion  caught  them  in  his  hand. " 

THE  LAST  THAT  WAS   SEEN  OF  CRONIN  ALIVE. 

"  Did  you  see  them  drive  away?  " 

"  I  did." 

"  In  what  direction?  " 

"  Driving  north.  The  man  took  up  the  reins 
quickly  and  seemed  anxious  to  get  away.  The 
horse  started  two  or  three  times  quickly,  and  he 
drew  them  back." 

"  Will  you  describe  the  horse  and  buggy  to  the 
jury?" 

"  I  will  to  the  best  of  my  ability.  It  was  an  old 
buggy,  but  very  clean,  without  side  curtains;  it 
was  small;  they  were  very  much  crowded  in  the 
buggy;  very  narrow  it  seemed  to  be,  and  the  horse 
was  peculiarly  white,  creamy  white.  It  was  a 
medium-sized  horse,  with  very  small  limbs,  small 
hoofs  and  feet  and  very  large  knee  joints,  and  the 
bones  were  very  large  and  prominent.  It  had  a 
very  peculiar  motion  which  I  never  will  forget." 

"  Describe  it." 

"  It  seemed  to  be  from  his  knees  down,  something 
like  that." 

Mrs.  Conkling  described  the  manner  in  which  the 
horse  acted,  describing  a  swaying  motion. 

"  Giving  it  an  uneasy  appearance  while  stand- 
ing?" asked  Judge  Longenecker. 

"  I  object  to  that,"  said  Mr.  Forrest.  "  That  is 
leading.  I  ask  that  it  may  be  stricken  out." 

"  It  may  be  stricken  out,"  said  the  court. 


THE   TRIAL  387 

"  I  am  not  particular  about  it,"  said  Judge 
Longenecker.  "  Is  there  any  other  description  that 
you  can  give?  " 

"  Nothing,  except  the  horse  started  on  very  well. 
It  was  a  very  nice,  pleasant  evening  and  a  great 
many  people  were  out  on  the  street  walking.  It 
was  very  warm." 

"  Now,  Mrs.  Conklin,  will  you  describe  the  man 
that  got  into  the  buggy  and  drove  him  off  north  on 
Clark  street?" 

"  He  was  about  five  feet  seven,  as  near  as  I  could 
judge.  He  was  a  medium-sized  man,  with  a  small 
mustache,  a  dirty-looking  face  and  straight  hair. 
He  had  a  slouch  hat  with  a  very  low  crown,  and 
very  faded-looking  clothes.  He  had  on  an  over- 
coat, which  looked  too  large  for  him  and  very  much 
faded.  He  looked  rusty  and  dirty  looking.  His 
coat  was  buttoned  at  the  neck,  but  the  collar  was 
not  turned  up  at  all.  The  rim  of  his  hat  appeared 
to  be  very  soft  —  that  is,  bent  and  broken — and  it 
fell  down  at  the  back.  It  was  a  hat  that  could  be 
crushed  up.  It  was  not  a  small  hat,  but  had  a  very 
low  crown. " 

"  You  speak  of  his  face  being  dirty?  " 

"  It  was  not  clean  shaven.  He  had  a  small  mus- 
tache; it  was  dark,  not  black.  It  was  a  long  growth 
of  beard,  a  stubbly  and  unshaven  face.  " 

"  How  about  his  build,  as  to  whether  he  was 
heavy  or  light?" 

"  He  was  not  a  heavy  man.  He  was  well  put 
together  —  I  should  say  wiry,  and  quick  in  his 
movements.  His  eyes  were  very  peculiar  —  very 


388  THE   GREAT   CRONIN    MYSTERY 

wicked.  He  had  a  most  villainous  countenance,  I 
will  say  right  here,  when  he  looked  at  you . " 

"  I  object  to  that,"  said  Mr.  Forrest. 

"  His  eyes  said,   '  Don't  look  at  me  again.'  ' 

"  I  object  to  that,"  said  Mr.  Forrest. 

"  That  may  be  stricken  out,"  said  the  court, 
"  bothas  to  the  villainous  look  and  the  other;  the 
two  last  stanzas  may  be  stricken  out. " 

The  witness,  resuming  her  testimony,  said  that 
the  man  had  on  a  faded  overcoat  with  a  greasy 
collar. 

"  Now,  the  doctor  did  not  return  that  night,  you 
say.  What  was  done  the  next  morning  by  your- 
self and  your  husband?" 

"  I  object,"  said  Mr.  Donahoe.  "  It  is  imma- 
terial, unless  it  was  done  in  the  presence  of  the 
defendants." 

"  We  propose  to  show  that  she  saw  one  of  the 
defendants  next  day,"  said  Judge  Longenecker. 

"  I  will  have  to  have  an  explanation  of  how  you 
make  it  relevant,"  said  the  court. 

O'SULLIVAN  AT  CRONIN'S  OFFICE    THE    NEXT    DAY. 

"  Did  you  see  Patrick  O'Sullivan,  one  of  these 
defendants,  the  next  day?  " 

"I  did." 

"  Where  did  you  see  him?  " 

"  In  Dr.  Cronin's  reception-room.  I  saw  him  on 
the  Sunday  afternoon 'after  Dr.  Cronin's  disappear- 
ance, the  5th  of  May." 

"  Who  brought  him  to  your  house?  Do  you 
remember?" 


THE   TRIAL  389 

"  Mr.  Murray,  one  of  Pinkerton's  men,  I  think." 

"  In  the  first  ^lace,  Mr.  Conklin  took  me  out  to 
Mr.  O'Sullivan's  house." 

"  Did  you  see  him  then?" 

"  I  did  not.  We  returned,  and  found  Mr.  O'Sul- 
livan  there  with  Mr.  Murray.  They  sat  on  the 
couch  in  Dr.  Cronin's  reception-room.  I  took  a 
seat  in  front,  and  Mr.  O'Sullivan  sat  directly  oppo- 
site me.  Mr.  Murray  said:  '  This  is  Mr.  O'Sullivan, 
Mrs.  Conklin.'  I  said:  'Mr.  O'Sullivan,  you  say 
you  did  not  send  for  Dr.  Cronin?'  My  husband 
had  seen  him  before  in  the  meantime.  Mr.  O'Sulli- 
van said:  'No;  I  did  not  send  for  Dr.  Cronin.'  I 
said:  '  Mr.  O'Sullivan,  you  made  a  contract  with  Dr. 
Cronin  a  short  time  ago.'  'Yes,'  he  said,  'I  made 
a  contract  with  Dr.  Cronin.'  'Well,'  I  said,  'is  it 
not  very  singular  that  you  should  send  for  Dr. 
Cronin  so  quickly  after  having  made  that  contract? ' 
'  Well,'  he  says,  '  it  was  about  four  weeks  ago  we 
made  that  contract.'  '  No,' I  said,  '  it  is  not  four 
weeks  ago.'  'Well/  he  said,  'it  is  three  weeks.' 
'No,'  I  said,  'it  is  not  three  weeks  since  I  knew  of 
it.'  'Well,  it  must  be  about  that  long.'  I  said: 
'  Well,  is  it  not  very  strange  that  you  should  make 
a  contract  with  Dr.  Cronin  to  come  six  or  seven 
miles  to  tend  your  men,  when  there  are  fifty  or  a 
hundred  physicians  near  you,  who  are  equally  as 
skillful  as  he?  Why  did  you  do  it?'  'Well,' he 
said,  '  because  Dr.  Cronin  was  so  highly  recom- 
mended.' I  said:  '  Who  recommended  Dr.  Cronin 
so  highly?'  '  Well,' he  said,  '  it  was  Justice  Ma- 
honey.'  He  said:  'Justice  Mahoney  came  with 


390  THE   GREAT   CRONIN   MYSTERY 

me  down  town  when  I  made  this  contract,  and 
introduced  me  to  Dr.  Cronin.'  I  said:  '  You  did 
not  know  Dr.  Cronin,  then,  before?'  'Well,  not 
very  well,'  he  said.  I  said:  '  If  you  knew  him  at 
all,  why  was  it  necessary  to  be  introduced?'  'Well, 
I  did  not  know  him  very  well,'  he  said.  '  Well,  Mr. 
O'Sullivan,  explain  this  thing.'  '  Well,  he  said,  'I 
cannot  explain  it.'  I  said:  '  You  must  make  some 
explanation.  You  must  admit  that  this  looks  very 
bad  for  you,  if  you  cannot  explain  it.'  '  Well,'  he 
said, 'it  does  look  awful  bad,  and  I  cannot  help  it.' 
In  the  meantime  he  would  not  look  at  me  at  all. 
He  sat  just  this  way  all  the  time  [witness  cast  her 
eyes  on  the  floor],  and  refused  to  look  at  me,  twirl- 
ing his  hat,  and  crushing  it,  and  turning  it  round." 

"  Can  you  recollect  anything  else  that  was  said 
at  that  time  by  you  to  him,  or  he  to  you?" 

"  I  said  to  him,  '  Did  you  ever  have  an  accident, 
Mr.  O'Sullivan?  '  '  No/  said  he,  '  I  never  had  an 
accident.'  I  said,  '  It  is  strange  that  you  say  you 
never  had  an  accident/  and  I  asked  how  many 
men  he  employed.  He  said,  '  At  present  I  have 
three;'  and  I  said  it  was  very  funny  to  make  a 
contract  for  a  physician  when  he  had  only  three 
men  in  his  employ.  'Well/  he  said,  '  I  expect  to 
have  more  men  after  a  while.'  He  said  he  never 
had  any  one  injured,  but  he  didn't  know  but  what 
there  might  be." 

"  Was  anything  said  about  the  card  the  man 
presented?" 

"  He  said  he  could  not  explain  that  at  all;  he 
said  he  hadn't  sent  for  the  doctor;  that  there 


THE   TRIAL  391 

was  no  one  sick  at  his  house,  and  he  didn't  know 
how  that  card  came  to  be  presented." 

"  At  what  time  was  it  when  your  husband  took 
you  to  O'Sullivan's  house?" 

"  We  left  about  three  o'clock.  Mr.  O'Sullivan 
had  then  left  his  house  to  go  to  our  house.  " 

"  Did  you  see  that  horse  and  buggy  after  the  4th 
of  May?" 

"I  did." 

"  Where  did  you  see  it?  " 

"  Just  in  the  same  place  it  was  when  it  started 
to  take  Dr.  Cronin  away — in  front  of  our  home 
in  the  Windsor  Block." 

"  Do  you  know  who  drove  the  horse  then?" 

"  Mr.  Beck,  a  reporter." 

At  the  suggestion  of  Mr.  Forrest,  Mr.  Beck  was 
sent  out  of  the  room. 

"  Do  you  remember  the  day  of  the  month  when 
Mr.  Beck  drove  up?" 

"  It  was  on  the  5th  of  May,  after  the  discovery 
of  the  body." 

"  What  kind  of  a  day  was  it  ?  " 

"  It  was  a  very  nice  day  —  a  clear,  bright  day." 

"  Was  it  something  like  the  4th  of  May  ?  " 

"Yes,  sir." 

"  Where  was  the  horse  standing  ?  " 

"  In  front  of  the  house,  just  where  it  did  when  I 
saw  it  before." 

"  Where  did  you  stand  ?  " 

"  I  stood  in  the  same  position,  in  the  north  bay 
window,  looking  out  of  the  south  part  of  the  win- 


392  THE   GREAT   CRONIN    MYSTERY 

dow  —  exactly  the  same  position  as  I  occupied 
when  they  drove  the  doctor  away. " 

"  Do  you  state  to  this  jury  that  that  was  the 
horse  and  buggy  in  which  Dr.  Cronin  was  driven 
away  ?  " 

"  I  do,  most  emphatically." 

"  When  you  looked  at  the  horse  at  that  time,  did 
you  observe  anything  ?  " 

"  Yes,  sir.  When  Mr.  Beck  came  in  I  stepped 
to  the  window  to  look  at  something —  I  don't  know 
what  —  and  I  said  [pressing  her  hand  to  her  breast 
in  a  startled  manner]  '  Where  did  you  get  that  ?  ' 
I  was  so  startled.  " 

"  What  caused  you  to  make  that  expression  ?  " 

"  Seeing  this  same  peculiar  motion  of  the  knees 
of  the  horse.  I  said  to  my  husband,  '  See,  it  is 
doing  that  same  thing.'  It  startled  me." 

The  reference  to  the  witness'  husband  was  struck 
out. 

"  Do  you  know  whether  the  card  the  stranger 
presented  was  removed  from  the  mantelpiece?  " 

"  Not  until  my  husband  took  it  from  there  next 
morning." 

"  Did  you  then  see  the  card?  " 

"  I  did,  and  read  what  was  on  it." 

"  Who  took  possession  of  the  card  then?  " 

"  My  husband;  he  took  it  with  him  when  he  went 
to  look  for  Dr.  Cronin.  That  was  between  eight 
and  nine  o'clock  Sunday  morning,  May  5th. 

"  Did  you  know  P.  O'Sullivan  before  that?  " 

"  I  did  not;  I  had  never  seen  him  before  that 
day."  Witness  further  said  that  she  spoke  to  Mr. 


THE   TRIAL  393 

O'Sullivan  about  Dr.  Cronin's  having  told  her  about 
the  contract. 

"  What  did  you  say  to  him?  " 

"  In  speaking  to  Mr.  O'Sullivan  about  the  time 
the  contract  was  made,  he  said  of  his  own  accord 
he  had  made  a  contract  two  or  three  weeks  ago.  I 
said,  'No,  it  is  not  so  long.'  He  said  he  thought 
it  was.  I  said  '  No,  because  it  is  not  long  since 
Dr.  Cronin  spoke  about  it.  It  was  only  nine  or 
ten  days  ago.' ' 

"  What  did  he  say?  " 

"  He  said  it  seemed  longer  to  him." 

This  completed  the  examination  in  chief. 

"  I  move  to  exclude  from  the  record,"  said  Mr. 
Forrest,  "  so  much  of  the  testimony  given  by  this 
witness  as  pertains  to  what  was  said  and  done  by 
the  stranger  in  her  presence;  another  motion  to 
exclude  so  much  as  pertains  to  what  was  said  and 
done  by  the  stranger  to  Dr.  Cronin  in  her  presence; 
also  to  exclude  from  the  record  what  was  said  by 
the  stranger;  and  then  a  motion  to  exclude  all  tes- 
timony as  to  the  acts  done  by  the  stranger  in  the 
presence  of  the  witness  and  the  deceased  Dr.  Cro- 
nin." 

"  For  the  present,"  said  the  court,  "  I  will  over- 
rule all  these  motions." 

"  Exception,"  said  Mr.  Forrest.  "  I  also  move 
to  strike  out  what  this  lady  said  when  she  saw  the 
horse  brought  by  reporter  Beck." 

"  I  think  I  will  let  it  stand,"  said  the  court. 

Another  exception  was  entered,  and  then  Mr. 
Forrest  began  his  cross-examination.  He  started 


394  THE  GREAT   CRONIN   MYSTERY 

by  asking  questions  in  regard  to  her  husband's 
business,  and  then  elicited  the  information  that 
Miss  Mclnerney  was  about  twenty  feet  distant  from 
the  witness  when  she  admitted  and  conversed  with 
the  stranger  in  her  ordinary  tone  of  voice.  She 
was  subjected  to  rigid  questioning  in  regard  to  the 
appearance  of  the  man  and  the  clothes  that  he 
wore,  but  the  cunning  lawyer  was  unable  to  shake 
her  evidence  in  any  particular.  Mr.  Forrest  car- 
ried her  along  the  main  points  of  her  testimony 
with  the  evident  object  of  confusing  Mrs.  Conklin, 
but  the  lady  was  not  to  be  confused,  and  repeated, 
in  almost  substantially  the  same  language,  what 
she  had  said  in  regard  to  the  doctor's  leaving  the 
house,  the  interview  that  Mr.  Scanlon  had  with 
him  when  he  entered  the  buggy,  the  manner  in 
which  Cronin  threw  the  keys  to  Scanlon,  and  the 
rapid,  nervous  way  in  which  the  driver  started  the 
horse  on  its  mission  of  death.  She  described  the 
peculiar  motion  of  the  horse's  lower  fore  legs,  and 
said  she  had  never  seen  any  other  horse  with  a 
similar  motion,  and  she  had  seen  a  great  number  of 
horses,  and  driven  quite  a  number  of  times. 

"  When  did  you  first  see  that  horse  after  the  4th 
of  May?  "  queried  Mr.  Forrest. 

"  The  first  time  I  identified  the  horse  after  the  23d 
of  May." 

"  When  was  the  first  time  you  saw  the  horse  after 
the  4th  of  May?  " 

"  I  saw  a  horse  which  was  supposed  to  be  the 
white  horse." 

"  Did  Captain  Schaack  show  you  a  horse?  " 


THE   TRIAL  395 

"  He  did;  I  think  it  was  the  latter  part  of  the 
week  following  the  death  of  Dr.  Cronin.  He 
brought  a  horse,  saying  that  it  was  out  that  night." 

'  Didn't  he  tell  you  before  he  brought  the  horse 
that  he  thought  he  had  the  rig  that  took  the  doctor 
away? 

"  He  did  not." 

"  Are  you  sure  of  that?  " 

"  Yes,  sir;  he  said  nothing  about  bringing  the 
horse  and  buggy  until  he  brought  it." 

"  When  he  brought  the  horse  and  buggy  there, 
you  saw  it,  didn't  you?  " 

"  I  did;  I  saw  more  of  the  buggy  than  I  did  of 
the  horse." 

"  Was  that  the  horse  that  took  Dr.  Cronin  away?  " 

"  I  could  not  say  it  was  the  horse  on  that  day, 
because  I  saw  it  under  very  unfavorable  circum- 
stances." 

"  What  were  the  unfavorable  circumstances? 

"  It  was  raining  very  hard,  which  changed  the 
color  of  the  horse,  and  the  horse  was  placed  in  such 
a  position  that  I  could  not  see  it  properly.  The 
horse  was  driven  beyond  our  place,  so  that  the 
buggy  was  between  myself  and  the  horse." 

"  Did  Captain  Schaack  ask  you  whether  that  was 
the  horse  and  buggy?  " 

"He  did  not." 

"  Did  you  tell  him,  when  you  were  looking  at  it, 
that  you  wanted  to  have  it  in  a  more  favorable  posi- 
tion? " 

"  I  did  not.  I  said  to  him:  '  Captain  Schaack,  I 
cannot  identify  this  horse  in  the  rain.' ' 


396  THE   GREAT  CRONIN   MYSTERY 

"  Do  you  tell  me  that  the  rain  would  interfere 
with  the  motion  of  the  horse's  legs?  " 

"  I  don't  say  that  it  would  interfere.  I  could  not 
see  the  motion. " 

"  Did  you  ask  him  to  place  the  horse  in  such  a 
position  that  you  could  see  it?  " 

"I  did  not." 

"  What  did  Captain  Schaack  say  to  you?  " 

"  He  said,  '  I  have  a  horse  here  I  would  like  to 
have  you  look  at.'  I  told  him  to  walk  in,  and  he 
excused  himself  for  coming  in  the  rain,  by  saying, 
'  Us  fellows  have  to  go  out  in  all  kinds  of  weather.' 
I  said  we  were  accustomed  to  that  kind  of  thing. 
He  came  in  and  asked  me  to  look  at  the  horse  and 
buggy.  We  went  to  the  bay  window  on  the  south 
side  of  the  house;  the  horse  and  buggy  were  north 
of  our  bay  window." 

"  Do  you  say  it  rained  all  that  time?  " 

"  It  rained  all  that  time  constantly?  " 

"  Don't  you  know  that  it  didn't  rain  until  the 
captain  started  to  go  away  ?  " 

"  I  beg  your  pardon,  it  was  raining  when  he  came 
in.  He  took  his  hat  off,  and  shook  the  raindrops 
from  it,  and  he  had  his  rain  coat  on." 

"  Did  you  tell  Captain  Schaack  at  that  time  that 
that  was  not  the  horse  ?  " 

"I  did  not." 

"  Are  you  sure  of  that?  " 

"  I  am  very  sure  of  it?  " 

"  Did  you  tell  him  that  in  no  way  did  it  resemble 
the  horse?" 

"I  did  not." 


THE   TRIAL  397 

"  Did  you  tell  Captain  Schaack  about  that 
motion?  " 

"I  did  not." 

"  Why  didn't  you  tell  him?  " 

"  Because  I  didn't  think  it  necessary. " 

"  Did  you  say,  '  Captain,  it  is  raining,  bring  the 
horse  another  day?  ' ' 

"I  did  not." 

"  Did  you  tell  him  that  it  looked  anything  like 
the  horse?  " 

"  I  told  him  I  could  not  identify  the  horse  in  the 
rain." 

FORREST  TRIES  HARD  TO  SHAKE   HER  TESTIMONY. 

This  line  of  examination  was  continued  of  much 
greater  length,  and  then  Mr.  Forest  endeavored  to 
get  the  witness  to  admit  that  she  had  told  a  re- 
porter that  the  horse  brought  by  Captain  Schaack 
did  not  in  any  way  resemble  the  one  which  drove 
the  doctor  away. 

Mr.  Forrest  announced  that  he  would  read  from 
the  Inter  Ocean  on  this  subject,  but  the  court 
would  not  permit  this  to  be  done,  and  Forrest  said 
he  would  withdraw  that. 

"  Just  as  a  man  withdraws  a  knife  after  giving  a 
stab,"  remarked  Mr.  Hynes.  Forrest  either  didn't 
hear  this,  or  didn't  want  to  hear  it,  because  he  con- 
tinued the  examination  without  making  an  effort 
to  respond. 

"  When  did  you  first  state  that  the  horse  that 
drove  the  doctor  away  had  that  peculiar  motion  of 
the  lower  fore  legs?  " 


398      THE  GREAT  CRONIN  MYSTERY 

"  I  think  the  first  time  I  stated  it  was  to  the  grand 
jury." 

"  Did  you  ever  tell  that  to  any  of  the  reporters 
who  called  upon  you?  " 

"I  think  not." 

"  Did  you  ever  tell  that  to  any  human  being  be- 
fore the  doctor's  remains  were  discovered?  " 

"  I  don't  quite  understand  you;  I  spoke  to  my 
husband  about  it." 

"  When  did  you  first  tell  him  about  it?  " 

"  We  talked  about  it  until  afterward  I  identified 
the  horse." 

"  Why  didn't  you  tell  some  of  the  officers  about 
that  movement  of  the  legs?  " 

"  I  was  never  asked  to  note  any  peculiarities  of 
the  horse." 

Mr.  Forrest  turned  once  more  to  the  man's  ap- 
pearance, and  asked  the  color  of  his  mustache. 
Mrs.  Conklin  again  declared  that  it  was  a  dark  mus- 
tache. 

"  Do  you  not  remember  meeting  Patrick  O'Sulli- 
van,  Mr.  Schuettler,  Captain  Schaack,  and  Patrick 
O'Sullivan's  man,  Mulcahey,  in  Captain  Schaack's 
office?" 

"Yes,  sir." 

"  Did  you  not  at  that  time  notice  that  O'Sulli- 
van's man  Mulcahey  had  a  very  black  mustache?  " 

"  Yes,  sir." 

"  Did  you  not  on  that  occasion  say,  '  The  driver 
had  a  mustache  blacker  than  yours '?" 

"  No,  sir;  I  never  said  such  a  thing." 

"  Do  you  remember  meeting  Patrick  O'Sullivan 


THE   TRIAL  399 

with  Superintendent  Murray  and  a  reporter  at  your 
house?  " 

"I  do." 

"  Did  you  not  at  that  time  say,  in  the  hearing  of 
those  persons,  that  the  driver  was  dark-complex- 
ioned?" 

"  I  have  said  he  was  dark." 

"  Didn't  you  say,  '  even  darker  than  you  are,  Mr. 
O'Sullivan.'" 

"  Yes,  I  might  have  said  that. " 

Lawyer  Forrest  told  O'Sullivan  to  stand  by  his 
side  a  moment.  The  prisoner  did  so,  and  looked  at 
the  witness  sharply. 

"  Now,  Mrs.  Conklin,"  said  Forrest,  "  was  he 
darker  than  O'Sullivan?" 

"  He  is  darker  than  O'Sullivan  is  now."  [Laugh- 
ter.] His  mustache  was  a  little  darker  than  that  " 
[pointing  to  O'Sullivan's  mustache].  "  It  seemed 
to  have  a  reddish  color  in  the  center,  but  the  ends 
were  darker  than  his.  The  man's  eyes  were  dark 
and  sharp,"  but  in  answer  to  several  questions,  the 
witness  declared  she  had  not  said  the  man  had 
black  eyes. 

At  this  point  recess  was  taken. 

After  recess  Mrs.  Conklin  again  went  upon  the 
stand,  and  was  further  cross-examined  by  Mr.  For- 
rest. 

"  Mrs.  Conklin,  did  you,  before  the  coroner's 
inquest  in  this  case,  testify  with  reference  to  the 
color  of  the  stranger's  overcoat —  the  stranger  that 
called  the  doctor  away?  " 

"  I  do  not  know  that  I  did;  I  presume  that  I  did." 


4OO  THE    GREAT   CRONIN   MYSTERY 

Mr.  Forrest  read  to  the  witness  a  series  of  ques- 
tions from  the  report  of  the  coroner's  inquest,  and 
asked  her  if  she  had  testified  in  that  way  about  the 
stranger's  overcoat  being  of  a  dark  color.  She 
said  she  did  not  remember  how  she  answered,  but 
probably  she  did  answer  that  the  color  of  his  over- 
coat was  dark.  Mr.  Beck  called  about  ten  days  or 
two  weeks  after  Captain  Schaack  called  at  her 
house.  It  was  at  an  earlier  hour  of  the  day  than 
when  Dr.  Cronin  was  called  away.  She  did  not 
remember  what  she  told  the  reporter,  but  she  knew 
that  she  had  said  the  stranger  had  dark  eyes,  and 
was  very  restless,  and  at  no  time  had  she  said  that 
he  had  a  red,  stubby  mustache.  She  always  de- 
scribed it  as  being  a  dark  mustache. 

"  Did  you  ever  before  to-day  describe  it  as  a  red, 
stubby  mustache!  " 

"  I  do  not  think  I  called  it  a  red,  stubby  mustache 
to-day.  It  was  a  small,  dark  mustache." 

"  May  I  ask  you  to  indicate  how  dark?  How 
would  it  compare  with  this  gentleman's?  "  pointing 
to  Judge  Longenecker. 

"  I  could  not  compare  it  with  that." 

Mr.  Forrest  then  put  the  same  question,  asking 
the  witness  to  make  the  comparison  with  the  mus- 
tache of  Juror  Allison. 

"  It  was  darker  than  that  on  both  ends." 

"  Captain  Schaack  showed  you  only  one  horse,  I 
believe?" 

"  Captain  Schaack  showed  me  two  horses." 

"  The  week  after  the  doctor's  disappearance  he 
showed  you  only  one?  " 


THE   TRIAL  40 1 

"That  is  all." 

Mr.  Donahoe  then  proceeded  to  cross-examine 
the  witness  on  behalf  of  O'Sullivan. 

"  What  time  on  Sunday  afternoon  on  the  5th  of 
May  was  it  that  O'Sullivan  had  a  conversation  with 
you?" 

"  About  five  o'clock  in  the  evening.  Mr.  Mur- 
ray brought  him  there,  and  was  present  during  the 
conversation. " 

"  Are  you  satisfied  that  he  did  hear  the  conver- 
sation? " 

"Yes." 

"  Who  else  heard  it?" 

"  There  was  a  lady  friend  of  ours  present  at  the 
time,  and  I  presume  she  heard  it.  There  was  a 
gentleman  there  during  a  portion  of  the  conversa- 
tion whom  I  do  not  know." 

"  Did  you  understand  at  that  time  that  he  was  a 
reporter?  " 

"No;  I  did  not." 

"  Did  your  husband  hear  the  conversation?  " 

"  I  cannot  say;  I  presume  he  did;  he  was  there." 

"  Before  you  had  this  conversation  with  O'Sulli- 
van you  had  been  at  O'Sullivan's  house?" 

"Yes,  sir." 

"  Have  you  now  testified  to  all  the  conversation 
that  you  can  remember?" 

"  As  nearly  as  I  can ;  yes,  sir." 

"  Have  you  talked  with  Mr.  Murray  since  that 
conversation?  " 

"  No;  I  have  not  talked  with  him." 

"  Have  you  seen  the  person  that  you  supposed  to 
Cronin  Mystery  26 


402  THE    GREAT   CRONIN   MYSTERY 

be  a  newspaper  reporter  since  that  conversation?  " 

"  Not  that  I  know  of." 

"  Have  you  seen  this  lady  since  that  conversa- 
tion?" 

"Yes,  sir." 

"  Have  you  talked  with  her  about  the  conversa- 
tion?" 

"  No.  I  have  talked  with  her  about  O'Sullivan 
being  there." 

"  Answer  my  question.  Did  you  at  any  time 
talk  with  her  about  the  conversation  you  had  with 
O'Sullivan?" 

"I  did  not." 

"  Before  you  testified  at  the  coroner's  inquest, 
did  you  see  Mr.  Hynes,  one  of  the  counsel  in  this 
case?" 

"  I  saw  him,  but  I  did  not  talk  to  him. " 

"  Did  you  talk  to  Mr.  Longenecker  about  the 
case  before  you  testified  at  the  coroner's  inquest?  " 

"  I  do  not  know  whether  it  was  before  or  after; 
I  cannot  remember  that.  I  had  a  very  short  con- 
versation with  Judge  Longenecker  at  one  time,  but 
I  cannot  say  whether  it  was  before  or  after  the 
inquest." 

"  Did  you  see  Mr.  Longenecker  at  the  coroner's 
inquest?" 

"Yes,  sir." 

"  Did  you  there  testify  about  the  conversation 
you  now  have  detailed  with  O'Sullivan?  " 

"I  think  I  did  so." 

On  re-direct  exmination  by  State's  Attorney 
Longenecker,  Mrs.  Conklin  stated  that  the  reporter, 


THE   TRIAL  403 

Beck,  drove  the  buggy  in  front  of  468  North  Clark 
street  in  the  same  position  that  it  was  when  Dr. 
Cronin  was  called  out,  and  she  looked  at  it  through 
the  south  side  of  the  north  bay  window.  When 
Captain  Schaack  came  therewith  a  buggy,  he  drove 
the  horse  north,  so  that  the  buggy  was  between 
her  and  the  horse,  and  she  could  not  see  it  from 
that  window. 

"  You  were  asked  in  reference  to  Captain  Schaack 
bringing  a  second  horse  there.  Do  you  remember 
that  circumstance?" 

"  I  do,  perfectly." 

"  Do  you  remember  when  it  was?  " 

"It  was  on  the  very  day  —  just  soon  after  I 
had  identified  the  horse  that  took  Dr.  Cronin 
away. " 

"  The  one  that  Mr.  Beck  brought  there?" 

"  Yes.  Captain  Schaack  and  Captain  Wing  came 
to  our  house  with  another  horse." 

"  I  object  to  that,"  said  Mr.  Forrest. 

"  You  called  it  out,"  replied  the  court. 

"  I  want  to  know  what  was  said  and  done,"  said 
Judge  Longenecker. 

"  If  you  are  going  to  the  point  of  asking  what 
she  said  about  that  horse,"  said  the  court,  "  I  can- 
not allow  it,  and  we  might  as  well  stop  right 
here." 

"  They  brought  out  the  conversation  with  Cap- 
tain Schaack  about  the  identification  of  the  horse," 
said  Judge  Longenecker. 

"Very  true,"  said  the  court;  "but  they  have 
simply  brought  out  the  fact  that  Captain  Schaack 


4O4      THE  GREAT  CRONIN  MYSTERY 

brought  the  horse  there.  They  had  not  brought 
out  anything  about  what  she  said  about  that  horse. 
I  think  on  the  part  of  the  State  it  would  be 
improper  to  pursue  it.  " 

"  Was  she  not  asked,"  said  Mr.  Hynes,  "  if  she 
did  not  recognize  the  horse  at  that  time,  and  did 
she  not  say  so  to  Captain  Schaack  ?  " 

"  If  she  said  so,  I  should  let  it  come  in,"  re- 
sponded the  court.  "  But  I  have  a  distinct  recollec- 
tion she  said  nothing  of  the  kind.  If  the  cross- 
examination  called  out  what  she  said  about  that 
horse,  turn  to  your  notes  ;  you  cannot  show  it  unless 
they  brought  it  out." 

"  We'll  look  that  up  and  see,"  said  Mr.  Hynes. 

Judge  Longenecker  then  asked  Mrs.  Conklin 
whether  she  had  testified  or  said  anything  about 
the  peculiarities  of  the  knees  of  this  horse  before 
the  coroner's  inquest,  and  she  replied  that  she  had 
described  it  before  the  coroner's  jury. 

Mr.  Forrest  then  put  Mrs.  Conklin  through  a 
searching  and  minute  examination  as  to  the  par- 
ticular window  from  which  she  had  looked  at  the 
horse  which  Mr.  Beck  had  brought  for  her  to 
identify,  and  also  as  to  the  horse  which  was  brought 
there  by  Captain  Schaack  ;  and  Mrs.  Conklin  again 
explained  by  reference  to  the  diagram  the  precise 
position  in  which  she  stood  when  looking  out  on 
both  occasions. 

"  I  looked  where  I  could  see  the  horse,"  she  said. 
"  I  could  not  seethe  horse  from  any  other  position. 
Captain  Schaack  came  into  the  house  and  rang  the 
bell,  and  he  was  admitted  on  that  side  of  the 


THE   TRIAL  4O5 

house,  and  walked  directly  around  to  the  bay 
window." 

"  Why  did  you  not  ask  him  to  step  around  to  the 
other  window  ?  " 

"  We  could  not  see  the  horse  at  that  window.  I 
could  not  have  seen  the  horse  from  any  other 
window.  I  could  only  see  the  back  of  the  horse 
from  where  I  was.  I  mean  the  back  of  the  spine. 
I  could  look  down  upon  him,  but  I  could  not  see 
the  face  of  the  horse  at  any  time  from  that  window. " 

Charles  W.  Beck,  a  reporter  for  a  morning  news- 
paper, was  the  next  witness.  He  testified  to  hav- 
ing taken  a  horse  and  buggy  from  Dinan's  livery 
stable  on  the  25th  of  May,  after  the  finding  of  Dr. 
Cronin's  body,  to  Frank  Scanlon's  house  and  to 
undertaker  Carroll's  on  Chicago  avenue,  near 
Wells  street,  where  Frank  Scanlon  saw  it,  and  to 
the  Windsor  Theater  building,  where  Mrs.  Conk- 
lin  then  lived.  Mrs.  Conklin  came  to  the  bay 
window,  and  looked  at  the  horse  and  buggy  that  he 
drove  there.  That  was  the  only  horse  and  buggy 
that  he  got  from  Dinan's  stable,  and  was  the  same 
that  he  stopped  with  at  the  undertaker  Carroll's 
establishment,  and  that  Frank  Scanlon  saw. 

On  cross-examination  by  Mr.  Forrest  the  wit- 
ness said  he  came  to  Chicago  in  1885,  and  had  been 
a  reporter  for  about  fifteen  years. 

"  How  often  have  you  figured  as  a  witness  in  a 
criminal  case?  " 

"  Well,  I  cannot  remember;  not  in  a  court-room 
since  1885.  I  was  a  witness  on  one  murder  case, 
and  this  case." 


406  THE   GREAT  CRONIN   MYSTERY 

"  That  is  the  Burns  murder  case? 

"  The  Burns  murder  case." 

"  You  are  the  man  that  went  to  Jefferson  Insane 
Asylum  and  acted  as  a  detective,  are  you  not?  " 

"  Yes,  sir;  I  am." 

"  Made  the  court  and  jury  believe  you  were 
insane  ? " 

"I  did;  yes,  sir." 

"  Acted  as  a  witness  in  that  case  ?  " 

"  I  did.  " 

"  The  man  was  acquitted  that  was  on  trial  ?  " 

"He  was." 

"  Did  you  ever  live  in  Cheyenne  ?  " 

"I  have." 

'  What  was  your  business  in  Cheyenne  ?  " 

"  I  do  not  think  I  will  allow  this  cross-examina- 
tion to  proceed,"  said  the  court.  "  He  is  testifying 
to  some  inconsequential  matters.  I  think  it  is 
utterly  immaterial  to  this  inquiry  —  anything  ex- 
cept the  bare  fact  that  he  drove  a  horse  and  buggy 
to  a  couple  of  places." 

"  That  is  satisfactory  to  us,"  said  Mr.  Forrest. 
"That  is  all." 

Sarah  McNearney  was  the  next  witness  for  the 
State,  and  was  examined  by  Mr.  Mills.  She  stated 
that  she  lives  at  80  Locust  street  with  her  mother 
and  sister,  and  on  the  4th  day  of  May,  of  this  year, 
went  to  the  office  of  Dr.  Cronin,  accompanied  by 
her  sister,  Agnes,  who  was  ill  at  the  time.  They 
went  there  between  7  and  7:30  o'clock  ;  she  judged 
about  7:15.  They  went  into  the  doctor's  reception- 


THE   TRIAL  4O/ 

room,  and  then  the  doctor  took  her  sister  into  the 
consultation-room. 

"  State  whether  or  not  a  man  came  into  the 
reception-room  while  you  were  there." 

"  Yes  ;  I  had  just  been  there  about  five  minutes 
when  the  door  bell  rang  and  Mrs.  Conklin  went  to 
the  door  and  I  heard  a  man's  voice." 

Mr.  Forrest  made  another  objection  to  any  testi- 
mony respecting  what  was  done  and  said  in  the 
presence  of  this  lady. 

"  It  is  the  same  old  objection,  I  presume,"  said 
Mr.  Mills. 

"  Yes,"  said  Forrest,    "  the  same  old  objection." 

The  court,  of  course,  overruled  it,  and  an  excep- 
tion was  noted.  Then  the  witness  proceeded: 

"  He  asked  if  the  doctor  was  at  home,  and  Mrs. 
Conklin  said  'Yes.'  He  said  there  was  an  acci- 
dent case,  and  he  wanted  the  doctor  right  away;  it 
was  very  urgent.  Mrs.  Conklin  said  the  doctor 
could  not  go  right  away  —  'come  in.'  I  suppose 
he  hesitated  in  coming  in." 

"  Was  there  any  delay  in  his  coming  in?  " 

"  Yes,  sir.  She  said  the  doctor  was  busy,  and 
with  that  he  came  into  the  reception-room." 

"  In  what  part  of  the  room  were  you  sitting  when 
the  stranger  came  in?  " 

"  In  the  southeast  corner —  right  near  to  the  doc- 
tor's private  room,  where  my  sister  was  receiving 
treatment." 

"  Did  the  stranger  take  a  chair  or  stand?  " 

"  Mrs.  Conklin  told  him  to  take  a  chair,  and  he 
walked  over  to  the  other  end  of  the  room." 


408       THE  GREAT  CRONIN  MYSTERY 

"  How  far  was  that  from  you?  " 

"  I  think  about  eight  feet.     He  then  sat  down." 

"  Describe  to  the  jury  how  he  sat?  " 

"  Very  nervously." 

"  Full  upon  the  chair,  or  on  the  edge,  or  how?  " 

"  He  was  sitting  more  like  this."  The  witness 
bent  forward  slightly,  and  indicated  as  if  the  man 
were  on  the  edge  of  the  chair,  with  his  hands  on 
his  knees. 

"  What  did  he  do,  if  anything  ?  " 

"I  didn't  see  him  do  anything;  only,  he  had  a 
very  uneasy  look  on  his  face.  " 

"  I  object  to  that,"  cried  Forrest. 

"  Yes,"  said  the  court,  "  I  think  that  ought  to  be 
stricken  out." 

"  It  is  a  matter  of  describing  a  man's  appear- 
ance," remarked  Mr.  Ingham. 

"  Yes,"  said  the  court, "  but  it  is  so  misleading.^' 

"  Suppose  you  should  describe  a  restless  eye/' 
observed  Mr.  Hynes. 

"  You  could  say  it  was  a  restless  eye,"  chipped 
in  Mr.  Forrest. 

"Did  you  notice  any  peculiarity  in  his  eyes?" 
resumed  Mr.  Mills. 

"  I  did,"  replied  the  witness. 

"  Tell  the  jury  what  it  was." 

"  He  had  a  stare  that  you  would  not  see  in  many 
persons.  It  was  a  stare  that  was  just  piercing.  He 
looked  at  me  so  sharp  that  I  had  to  throw  my  eyes 
off  his  face.  Every  time  I  looked  up  he  looked 
straight  at  me,  and  would  not  take  his  eyes  off." 

"  How  tall  was  this  man  ?  " 


THE   TRIAL  409 

"  About  five  feet  seven." 

"  Describe  his  face." 

"  He  had  a  thin  face. " 

"  Did  you  notice  a  mustache  ?  " 

"  Yes,  sir;  he  had  a  dark  mustache." 

"  How  about  his  face  as  to  being  shaved  ?  " 

"  Well,  it  was  not  cleanly  shaved." 

"  Did  j'ou  notice  the  overcoat  or  outer  garment 
that  he  wore  ?  " 

"  Yes,  sir." 

"  Was  that  buttoned  or  unbuttoned  ?  " 

"  Unbuttoned." 

"  Did  you  speak  to  him  ?  "  « 

"No,  sir." 

"  Did  he  speak  to  you  ?  " 

"  No,  sir." 

'  What  occurred  after  he  had  taken  a  chair?  " 

"  Mrs.  Conklin  went  to  the  door  of  the  doctor's 
private  room  and  rapped,  and  told  him  that  there 
was  a  gentleman  outside  who  had  an  accident  case 
and  wanted  him  right  away.  The  doctor  answered: 
'  In  a  minute.'  Two  minutes  afterward  the  doctor 
opened  the  door  and  came  into  the  reception-room. 
As  he  did  so,  this  man  advanced  toward  the  doctor, 
meeting  him  just  near  the  library  table,  and  asked 
if  he  was  Dr.  Cronin.  The  doctor  said:  'Yes, 'and 
then  the  man  said:  'There  is  an  accident.'  'Who 
is  it?  '  asked  the  doctor.  'A  man  who  was  run  over 
by  an  ice  wagon,'  said  the  man;  '  it  is  one  of  P. 
O'Sullivan's  men.'  ' 

"  Did  the  doctor  say  anything?  " 

"  He  said:  '  Why  didn't  you  get  another  doctor.' 


410  THE    GREAT    CRONIN    MYSTERY 

With  that  this  man  put  his  hand  in  his  pocket  and 
drew  out  a  card  and  gave  it  to  the  doctor.  When 
he  looked  at  the  card  the  doctor  said:  '  All  right; 
I'll  be  with  you  in  a  minute.'  The  man  said:  'Well, 
I  have  a  horse  and  buggy  down  at  the  door,'  and 
the  doctor  said:  '  Well,  I'll  be  with  you.' ' 

"  Did  the  stranger  say  anything  about  O'Sullivan 
being  absent?  " 

"  Yes,  sir,  he  did.  When  he  produced  the  card 
he  said  Mr.  O'Sullivan  was  out  of  town,  and  had 
told  his  men,  that,  if  they  wanted  a  doctor,  to  go  for 
Dr.  Cronin." 

"  Did  the  doctor  make  any  reply  to  that  re- 
mark? " 

"  When  the  card  was  shown  he  seemed  to  remem- 
oer  right  away  that  it  was  P.  O'Sullivan." 

Witness  had  seen  the  card,  but,  on  one  of  O'Sul- 
livan's  ice  cards  being  produced,  she  said  she  could 
not  identify  it  because  she  had  not  read  what  was 
upon  it." 

"  What  did  the  doctor  do  with  the  card?" 

"  I  saw  the  doctor  with  it  in  his  hand,  but  I  don't 
know  what  he  did  with  it." 

"  What  happened  then?  " 

"  The  doctor  sat  down  and  wrote  a  prescription 
for  my  sister." 

"  Where  was  this  man  while  the  doctor  was  writ- 
ing the  prescription?" 

"  Right  behind  the  doctor,  on  the  same  chair  he 
had  when  he  first  came  in.  The  doctor  gave  my 
sister  the  prescription,  and  gave  her  some  advice, 
and  then  went  to  his  private  room  to  get  his  over- 


Luther  Laflin  Mills,  one  of  the  attorneys  for  the  prosecution. 


George  0  Ingham,  one  of  the  attorneys  for  the  prosecution. 


THE  TRIAL  411 

coat  and  surgical  case.  I  then  asked  the  doctor  a 
few  questions  as  to  my  sister's  case,  and,  while  he 
was  talking  to  me,  I  had  my  back  toward  the 
stranger.  He  told  my  sister  to  come  at  three 
o'clock  on  Monday  afternoon,  and  then  we  left." 

"  Did  you  notice  the  stranger's  boots?  " 

"  I  did,  sir.  They  were  rather  rough  looking, 
and  the  leather  looked  very  red  and  muddy.  They 
looked  as  if  they  had  been  wet ;  there  was  no  pol- 
ish on  them." 

"  Did  you  at  any  time  see  the  man's  hat  ?  " 

"  Yes,  sir.  It  was  a  soft  felt,  flat  hat.  The  rim 
was  narrow." 

"  State  whether  or  not  the  man  was  thin  or 
stout?" 

"  He  was  a  small,  thin  man." 

"  Was  there  any  peculiarity  as  to  his  shoulders 
or  chest  ?  " 

"  He  was  narrow  across  the  shoulders.  The  coat 
he  wore  looked  like  a  faded  black  ;  it  was  well 
worn." 

"  Can  you  tell  the  appearance  of  any  other  gar- 
ment the  man  had  on  besides  this  overcoat  ?" 

"  No,  sir,  I  cannot.  The  reception-room  was 
lighted  by  a  chandelier  in  the  center  of  the  room. 
Mrs.  Conklin's  room  was  dimly  lighted." 

"  The  gas  was  burning  while  you  were  there  ?  " 
asked  Forrest,  in  cross-examination. 

"  Yes,  sir,"  replied  the  witness. 

"  It  was  quite  dark,  was  it  not  ?" 

"  The  evening  was  dark." 

"  What  time  was  it  ?  " 


412  THE   GREAT   CRONIN   MYSTERY 

"  It  was  about  7:15  when  we  reached  the  office, 
and  we  left  about  half-past  seven.  We  left  before 
the  doctor  did." 

"  You  say  the  man  had  a  dark,  piercing  eye?  " 

"Yes,  sir." 

"  A  faded  overcoat?  " 

"Yes,  sir." 

"  And  sat  nervously  on  the  chair?" 

"Yes,  -sir." 

"  Do  you  know  that  Mrs.  Conklin  testified  to  ex- 
actly the  same  thing  and  used  the  same  language?  " 

"  I  object  to  the  question  as  irrelevant  and  im- 
proper," interrupted  Mr.  Mills;  but,  the  witness 
having  already  answered  in  the  negative,  the  court 
allowed  it  to  stand. 

Mr.  Forrest  then  tried  to  get  witness  to  describe 
the  dress  of  Dr.  Cronin,  which  she  did  with  a  sur- 
prising degree  of  particularity,  considering  the  fact 
that  she  had  paid  no  attention  to  it  or  given  the 
matter  any  thought. 

Miss  Agnes  McNearney,  Dr.  Cronin's  last 
patient,  next  took  the  stand.  She  told  about  going 
to  consult  the  doctor  in  company  with  her  sister, 
and  said  she  had  heard  a  man's  voice  while  she  sat 
in  the  consultation-room. 

"  Could  you  hear  what  he  said?  "  asked  Mr. 
Mills. 

"  He  had  asked  for  the  doctor,  and  Mrs.  Conk- 
lin had  gone  to  the  door,  and  said  the  doctor  was 
engaged,  and  told  him  to  step  in." 

Here  Mr.  Forrest  interrupted,  and  made  the  same 
old  objection,  and  had  an  exception  entered. 


THE    TRIAL  413 

"  The  door  between  the  two  rooms  was  open  at 
the  time,"  continued  the  witness.  "  When  the 
doctor  heard  the  man's  voice  he  closed  the  door  from 
the  reception-room  into  the  consultation-room. 
The  man  didn't  seem  to  care  to  stay;  he  wanted 
the  doctor  immediately.  When  Mrs.  Conklin 
called  him  the  doctor  left  me  and  went  out." 

"  Did  you  hear  what  was  said  afterward  outside 
the  consultation-room?" 

"  Yes.  The  gentlemen  asked:  'Is  this  Dr.  Cro- 
nin?"  'Yes,'  said  the  doctor.  'There  is  a  man 
injured,'  said  the  man;  '  one  of  P.  O'Sullivan's  ice- 
men.' As  nearly  as  I  can  recollect  those  were  the 
words  he  used." 

This  witness  corroborated  the  testimony  of  her 
sister  during  the  subsequent  stage  of  the  fateful 
interview  between  Dr.  Cronin  and  the  driver.  She 
said  the  man  seemed  to  be  quite  excited,  and  had 
a  great  stare  in  his  eyes — so  much  so  that  she 
could  not  look  at  the  man.  He  was  also  very 
nervous.  She  was  not  a  very  good  judge  of  such 
matters,  but  she  thought  the  man  was  about  five 
feet  seven,  or  seven  and  one-half.  Her  description 
of  his  clothing  tallied  with  that  given  by  her  sister 
and  Mrs.  Conklin. 

On  cross-examination,  she  stated  that  she  did 
not  testify  at  the  coroner's  inquest  or  before  the 
grand  jury;  the  first  person  she  mentioned  the 
facts  to  was  Captain  Schuettler,  about  two  weeks 
after  the  doctor's  disappearance.  On  being  ques- 
tioned as  to  the  look  in  the  man's  eye,  she  said: 

"  It  was  a  stare,  but  it  was  quite  a  bright  eye.     I 


414  THE   GREAT    CRONIN    MYSTERY 

looked  at  the  gentleman  just   as  I  would  look  at 
you  [Forrest],  and  dropped  my  eyes  again." 

"  Do  you  know  that  your  sister  used  exactly  the 
same  language  in  describing  the  same  thing?" 
queried  Forrest. 

"  I  won't  permit  that,"  said  the  court. 

"  Have  you  and  your  sister  talked  about  the  way 
you  would  tell  this?" 

"  No,  sir,  we  have  not,"  said  the  witness,  indig- 
nantly; "  I  know  nothing  of  what  she  said." 

"  Can  you  tell  how  you  hit  upon  identically  the 
same  language?" 

"  I  object,"  cried  Mills,  "  because  I  think  it  is  a 
misstatement. " 

"  And  it  involves  too  much  of  an  argument," 
said  the  court." 

"  Counsel  has  no  right,"  cried  Judge  Longe- 
necker  warmly,  "  to  make  such  insinuations." 

"  If  I  have  said  anything  improper,"  responded 
Forrest,  "  I  would  like  the  court  to  tell  me,  and  I 
will  withdraw  it." 

"  I  have  ruled  against  it,"  said  the  court. 

"  It  might  be  as  well,  your  honor,"  slyly  observed 
Mr.  Hynes,  "  to  act  on  Mr.  Forrest's  suggestion. 
He  asked  if  he  had  said  anything  wrong.  You 
should  tell  him,  because  he  won't  know  it  himself." 
[Laughter.] 

"  I  should  suggest,"  cried  Forrest  hotly,  "  that 
that  is  a  play  for  the  grand  stand." 

This  ended  the  colloquy,  and  the  witness  was 
dismissed  after  declaring  that  she  did  not  know 
how  the  doctor  was  dressed. 


THE   TRIAL 


415 


John  Joseph  Cronin,  brother  of  the  murdered 
doctor,  who  is  a  farmer  in  Arkansas,  was  the  next 
witness  as  to  identification.  His  testimony  was 
very  brief.  He  said  that  his  brother  was  born  in 
Buttevant,  County  Cork,  Ireland,  between  the 
years  of  1844  and  1845.  Witness  came  to  the  city 
on  May  1 5th  last,  and  on  the  24th  of  May  he  went 
to  the  morgue  at  Lake  View  to  look  at  a  body. 


"  Whose  body  was  that?"  inquired  Mr.  Ingham, 
who  was  conducting  the  examination  for  the  State. 
"  It    was   my    brother's    body,  Patrick    Henry 
Cronin." 

"  You  are  sure  that  was  his  body?  " 
"  That  was  his  body — yes,  sir,  certainly." 
"  Were  there  any  peculiarities  about  it  by  which 
you  recognized  it?  " 


416  THE   GREAT    CRONIN    MYSTERY 

In  cross-examination,  Mr.  Forrest  elicited  the  in- 
formation that  witness  had  lived  at  Carlinville,  111., 
about  four  years  ago. 

FRANK   SCANLON,    WHO   LAST  SAW   THE   DOCTOR. 

Frank  T.  Scanlon,  shipping  clerk  with  W.  M. 
Hoyt  &  Co.,  then  took  the  witness  chair,  and  was 
examined  by  Judge  Longenecker.  He  said  he  saw 
Dr.  Cronin  on  the  evening  of  the  4th  of  May  in 
front  of  the  Windsor  Theater  building  about  7:30 
o'clock;  the  doctor  was  leaving  the  building  to  go 
into  a  buggy. 

"  Was  there  anybody  with  him?  "  asked  the  State's 
Attorney. 

"  Yes,  sir;  the  man  who  drove  the  buggy  came 
down-stairs  with  him. " 

"  Who  came  down  first?" 

"The  driver." 

"  Did  you  speak  to  the  doctor?  " 

"  I  didn't  speak  to  him  until  he  was  just  getting 
into  the  buggy.  The  man  who  drove  got  into  the 
buggy  first." 

"  State  what  occurred." 

"  As  the  doctor  got  into  the  buggy  the  man  had 
the  lines,  and  appeared  to  be  ready  to  drive  away ; 
and  I  said:  'Hello,  doctor,  where  are  you  going?' 
He  said  :  '  I  am  going  to  attend  to  an  accident  at 
an  ice  house  north.'  I  said:  'You  know  there  is 
a  meeting  of  the  Celto-American  Club  at  your 
office  to-night.'  Just  as  I  said  that  the  man  asked 
him  to  change  seats;  at  this  time  the  man  was  on 
his  left  hand,  facing  north.  What  the  man  said  I 


THE   TRIAL  4-17 

did  not  understand,  but  the  doctor  listened  to  him 
and  nodded,  as  much  as  to  say  'yes.'  Then  the 
man  got  up,  with  his  knees  close  to  the  dash- 
board, moving  to  the  right,  and  the  doctor  slid 
over,  moving  to  the  left.  When  he  came  on  that 
side,  he  says,  '  It  is  very  fortunate  you  came. 
Now  you  can  take  the  keys.'  He  reached  his  hand 
in  his  pocket  and  got  out  the  keys.  They  were 
cramped  for  room  in  the  buggy,  and  he  got  his 
hand  in  the  wrong  pocket.  He  turned  to  get  his 
hand  into  the  other  pocket,  and  got  the  keys  out  on 
a  ring.  When  I  saw  the  number  of  keys  I  asked 
him  which  one  would  unlock  the  door.  He  got  the 
keys  up  on  the  ring  to  get  the  key  which  would 
unlock  the  door,  and  the  man  started  the  horse  up. 
The  doctor  was  reaching  through  the  bows  of  the 
buggy  when  the  man  pulled  the  horse  up,  and  I 
lost  the  key  that  would  unlock  the  door;  I  could 
not  tell  which  one  it  was.  I  said,  'When  will  you 
be  back?"  I  intended  to  tell  them  at  the  meeting. 
He  said,  '  God  knows.  I  do  not  know  how  long 
this  will  take.'  The  man  started  again,  and  the  doc- 
tor said,  '  You  will  find  some  papers  down  there 
for  the  men  to  sign.'  I  followed  him  up  a  few 
steps.  I  thought  he  said  papers  for  the  stockhold- 
ers to  sign,  or  something  of  that  kind.  While  he 
was  talking  I  followed  them  up  a  few  steps  farther, 
and  they  got  off  while  he  was  still  talking. " 

"  Who  was  still  talking?  "  asked  Mr.  Forrest 

"Dr.  Cronin." 

"  As  the  buggy  got  off  he  was  talking  about 
these  papers?  "  asked  Judge  Longenecker.  "  Now, 

Cronin  Mystery  2? 


41 8      THE  GREAT  CRONIN  MYSTERY 

did  Dr.  Cronin  have  anything  in  his  hands  as  he 
came  out  of  the  stair  door  where  you  first  saw 
him?" 

"  Yes  ;  he  carried  a  package  on  his  left  arm  —  a 
box  of  some  kind. " 

"  Where  did  he  have  that  in  the  buggy  ?  " 

"  On  his  lap  on  his  knees. " 

"  Did  you  notice  the  man  that  drove  the  doctor 
away  ?  " 

"  Yes,  sir  ;  I  noticed  the  man." 

"  Will  you  describe  that  man  to  this  jury  ?  " 

"  I  thought  the  man  was  about  my  build — no, 
not  quite  as  heavy." 

"  Did  he  have  on  an  overcoat  ?  " 

"  Yes,  sir  ;  he  had  on  an  overcoat  ;  I  noticed  his 
overcoat.  It  was  not  a  long  overcoat.  It  was  one 
of  those  short  overcoats  ;  a  kind  of  dark  brown 
overcoat  of  light  weight." 

"  How  was  it  as  to  wear  ?  " 

"  I  thought  it  was  an  old  overcoat  that  hung 
around  the  barn." 

"  How  about  the  hat  ?  " 

"  The  hat  was  a  black  hat,  a  soft  felt  hat,  small 
crown,  small  rim  ;  a  soft  felt  hat." 

"  How  did  he  wear  it  ?  " 

"  He  wore  it  pulled  down  over  his  eyes." 

"  Did  you  see  the  man's  face  ?  " 

NOTICED  THE  HALF-HIDDEN  FACE. 

"  Yes.  I  saw  his  face  up  to  here.  [The  witness 
described  the  portion  of  the  man's  face  that  he  saw.] 
When  he  looked  out  he  was  on  the  right  side  of 


THE   TRIAL  419 

the  buggy,  and  I  was  talking  to  the  doctor.  His 
eyes  appeared  to  be  very  dark.  He  had  a  rather 
fierce  look  in  his  eyes,  and  I  rather  thought  it  was 
on  my  account." 

"  That  won't  do,"  said  Mr.  Forrest. 

"  His  eyes  were  dark,  and  his  mustache  was  dark. 
I  could  not  see  anything  regular  about  his  features.  " 

"  As  to  the  appearance  of  the  face — whether  he 
had  been  shaved  or  not?  " 

"  Well,  I  do  not  think  he  was  shaved  for  a  week." 

"  Did  you  notice  his  mustache?  " 

"  His  mustache  was  dark.  It  was  not  a  mustache 
that  pulled  out.  It  was  a  kind  of  mustache  that 
clung  to  his  lips — what  you  would  call  a  'moss 
mustache." 

"  Did  you  notice  whether  he  had  on  boots  or 
shoes?  " 

"No,  sir." 

"  Did  you  notice  the  horse  and  buggy?  " 

"  I  noticed  the  horse  and  buggy;  yes,  sir." 

"  What  kind  of  a  horse  was  it?  " 

"  It  was  a  white  horse;  it  looked  to  me  to  be  a 
kind  of  an  old  horse  and  old  buggy." 

"  How  was  the  buggy  as  to  width?" 

"  I  noticed  that  the  seat  was  very  narrow  from  the 
way  they  were  cramped  in  the  seat.  They  could 
hardly  move  around." 

"  Did  you  notice  the  gait  of  the  horse  as  they 
started  off — its  mode  or  manner  of  traveling?  " 

"  Yes,  sir,  I  noticed  the  horse  going.  In  fact, 
he  tried  to  make  two  or  three  starts  before  he  did 
go.  You  could  not  call  it  pacing;  it  was  a  kind  of 


420  THE   GREAT    CRONIN    MYSTERY 

a  rickety  gait.  I  would  not  know  what  to  call  it. 
I  noticed  him  for  half  a  block." 

"  In  what  direction  did  they  drive?  " 

"  North  on  Clark  street." 

"  How  far  north  did  you  notice  them  driving?  " 

"  I  should  say  half  or  three-quarters  of  a  block." 

"  Did  you  ever  see  that  horse  and  buggy  after 
that  day?  " 

"  Yes;  I  saw  it  in  front  of  Burns  &  Carroll's,  the 
undertakers,  on  Chicago  avenue." 

"  Who  was  driving  it  at  that  time?  " 

"  A  reporter  for  one  of  the  papers  here.  His 
name  is  Beck." 

"  You  say  that  horse  and  buggy  is  the  same  horse 
and  buggy  that  was  driven  that  night  in  which  Dr. 
Cronin  was  seated  with  this  stranger?  " 

"  Yes,  sir. " 

"  On  this  evening,  when  the  driver  came  down 
with  the  doctor,  state  what  he  first  did  after  com- 
ing out  on  the  sidewalk." 

"  My  attention  was  attracted  to  him  in  this  way: 
I  was  talking  to  the  confectioner  at  the  candy  store 
when  this  man  stepped  out  with  the  doctor.  The 
man  went  to  the  horse's  head  and  removed  the 
hitching  strap  and  weight,  and  the  doctor  jumped  in 
after  him.  I  had  to  go  pretty  quick  in  order  to 
catch  them,  because,  if  I  did  not,  they  would  be  off. " 

"  Where  is  that  candy  store?  " 

"  It  is  next  to  the  Windsor  Theater  building." 

"  South  of  the  entrance  of  Conklin's  residence, 
is  it?  " 


THE   TRIAL  421 

"  Yes,  south  of  the  door,  but  in  the  same  build- 
ing." 

"  You  saw  him  unsnap  the  weight  and  jump  in 
the  buggy?  " 

"  Yes,  and  take  the  lines  all  ready  to  start." 

"  I  will  ask  you  if  you  have  had  any  experience 
in  reference  to  driving  horses  or  seeing  them 
driven?  " 

"  Yes,  I  have  had  a  good  deal  of  experience.  I 
am  a  shipping  clerk.  " 

"I  object,"  said  Judge  Wing. 

"  I  don't  know  what  the  point  is,"  said  the  court. 

"  I  presume  they  want  to  show,"  said  Mr.  For- 
rest, "  that  this  driver  was  an  expert  driver. " 

"  Let  him  answer,"  said  the  court. 

"  I  notice  the  drivers  of  teams  for  our  trucks," 
said  the  witness.  "  When  a  new  man  is  put  in,  it  is 
my  business  to  see  what  kind  of  a  teamster  he  is, 
and  I  generally  watch  the  man  to  see  how  he 
handles  the  lines." 

"  You  speak  of  being  at  Carroll's  undertaking 
establishment.  Did  you  see  the  same  body  there 
that  you  identified  as  Dr.  Cronin's  up  at  the  morgue 
at  Lake  View?" 

"  I  merely  went  there  to  have  the  remains  trans- 
ferred to  the  armory.  I  was  back  in  the  room  and 
saw  the  casket,  but  did  not  look  at  the  body.  I 
had  it  transferred  from  Burns  &  Carroll's  that  Sat- 
urday afternoon.  That  was  my  business  over 
there. " 

"  Did  you  know  that  Beck  was  coming  there  with 
that  horse  and  buggy?" 


422  THE   GREAT    CRONIN   MYSTERY 

"  I  object,"  said  Mr.  Forrest. 

"  I  want  to  show  that  it  was  not  prearranged," 
said  Judge  Longenecker. 

"  There  is  no  possible  way  by  which  I  can  con- 
tradict that,"  said  Mr.  Forrest. 

"  I  suppose  that  is  not  always  a  test  of  compe- 
tency," said  Mr.  Hynes. 

"  You  might  make  this  competent  if  you  started 
in  on  it  from  the  other  side,"  said  the  court,  "  but, 
starting  in  on  it  from  this  side,  I  do  not  know  that 
you  can." 

"  There  is  no  evidence  that  it  was  prearranged," 
remarked  Mr.  Forrest. 

"  No,"  said  Judge  Longenecker,  "  it  is  not  very 
material.  We  do  not  insist  on  the  question." 

On  cross-examination  by  Mr.  Forrest,  the  wit- 
ness repeated  his  evidence  as  to  how  the  doctor 
started  off  in  the  buggy  on  the  night  of  May  4th. 
Mr.  Forrest  attempted  to  confuse  him  by  reading 
questions  "from  the  report  of  his  testimony  at  the 
coroner's  inquest,  and  asking  him  whether  he  testi- 
fied in  that  manner.  The  witness  said  he  did  not 
remember  whether  he  had  used  exactly  the  same 
words  in  testifying  before  the  coroner  or  not.  He 
did  not  remember  saying  at  the  inquest  that  he  did 
not  notice  whether  the  stranger  had  an  overcoat. 

"  Did  you  not  use  this  expression,  '  The  man  was 
about  my  build,'  without  qualifying  it  by  the 
expression,  '  but  not  so  heavy'  ?  " 

"  I  thought,  looking  at  him,  he  was  about  my 
build." 


THE   TRIAL  423 

"  Did  you  qualify  it  with  the  expression  '  not  so 
heavy'?" 

"  It  is  some  time  ago,  and  I  do  not  remember. " 
"  Have  you  not  put  on  that  expression,  '  not  so 
heavy,'  to  make  your  description  tally  with  that  of 
the  other  witnesses  ?  " 

"  You  need  not  answer  that  question,"  said  the 
court.  "  I  think  that  line  of  question  is  improper. 
That  is  a  matter  of  argument." 

Mr.  Forrest  noted  another  exception. 

On  re-direct  examination  by  Judge  Longenecker, 
the  witness  said  he  thought  the  stranger  had  a  dark 
brown  overcoat 

"  Now,  Mr.  Scanlon,  you  were  going  on  to  say 
something  when  Mr.  Forrest  stopped  you  with 
regard  to  the  horse  ?  " 

"  I  object  to  that  statement,"  cried  Mr.  Forrest. 

"  Yes,  I  was,"  said  Mr.  Scanlon. 

"  Let  him  say  it,"  ruled  the  court. 

"  I  wanted  to  say  this,"  continued  the  witness, 
"  that,  when  Dr.  Cronin  said,  '  I  am  going  to  attend 
to  an  accident  at  the  ice  house  up  north,'  the 
thought  struck  me  that  this  was  the  foreman  of  the 
barn,  and  that  that  was  the  kind  of  a  rig  that 
they  kept  around  the  barn  to  run  on  errands.  If 
an  accident  had  happened  to  one  of  our  men  we 
would  go  out  with  that  sort  of  a  rig." 

"  Then,  from  that  time  on  you  noticed  the  rig?  Is 
that  right?  " 

"  I  will  withdraw  my  objection  and  let  him  an- 
swer," said  Mr  Forrest.  "  I  want  to  cross-examine 
him  on  it." 


424  THE   GREAT  CRONIN   MYSTERY 

"  When  my  attention  was  first  called  to  the  rig  I 
noticed  the  rig  from  the  time  I  speak  about  going 
north." 

"  You  say  you  noticed  that  rig,"  said  Mr.  For- 
rest, "  because  it  occurred  to  you  that  it  was 
just  such  a  rig  as  they  would  have  around  an  ice 
place?  " 

"  No;  that  was  not  his  answer,"  said  Judge 
Longenecker. 

"Around  a  barn  or  stable,"  corrected  Judge 
Wing. 

"  Just  such  a  rig,"  repeated  Mr.  Forrest,  "  as 
they  would  have  around  an  ice  barn  or  stable.  Is 
that  why  you  noticed  it?  " 

"  He  did  not  say  an  'ice'  barn  or  stable,"  said 
Mr.  Hynes. 

"  When  he  said  he  was  going  to  attend  to  an 
accident  at  the  ice-house  up  north,"  explained  the 
witness,  "  I  supposed  this  was  a  large  ice  house, 
and  that  this  was  the  foreman  connected  with  the 
barn,  and  that  this  was  the  rig  used  for  errands  of 
that  kind,  to  be  at  the  foreman's  use.  That  is  the 
reason  that  I  noticed  the  rig,  and  I  noticed  that  it 
was  not  bright  and  new,  and  not  a  young  horse. 
It  looked  just  like  a  rig  that  a  foreman  would  use." 

"  That  is  the  reason  that  you  noticed  the  rig, 
is  it?" 

"Yes,  sir." 

T.  T.  Conklin,  the  saloon  keeper,  was  recalled 
on  behalf  of  the  State,  and  was  examined  by  Judge 
Longenecker  as  to  what  he  did  in  reference  to 


.rfE   TRIAL  425 

searching  for  Dr.  Cronin  on  the  morning  of  May 
5th. 

Mr.  Forrest  interposed  a  most  strenuous  objec- 
tion and  interrupted  the  witness  several  times  just 
as  soon  as  he  got  out  the  words  "  immediately 
after  we  finished  breakfast." 

The  court  overruled  Mr.  Forrest's  objection,  and 
another  exception  was  noted. 

"  Immediately  after  breakfast,"  said  Mr.  Conklin, 
"  I  telephoned  over  to  the  O'Sullivan  Ice  Company, 
taking  the  number  from  a  card  that  lay  on  a  mantel 
in  Dr.  Cronin's  office." 

The  witness  identified  the  card,  which  was 
handed  to  him  for  the  purpose  by  Judge  Longe- 
necker. 

Mr.  Conklin  went  on  to  say,  that  after  getting  a 
reply,  he  drove  over  to  O'Sullivan's  house  on  the 
corner  of  Bosworth  avenue  and  Roscoe  street,  and 
got  there  about  eleven  o'clock  in  the  morning. 

"  Did  you  see  Patrick  O'Sullivan,  one  of  the 
defendants  at  that  time?  " 

"I  did." 

"  Where  did  you  see  him?" 

"  In  his  house." 

"  State  what  you  said  to  him  at  that  time." 

"  I  asked  him  if  Dr.  Cronin  had  been  called  to 
his  house — if  he  had  sent  for  Dr.  Cronin." 

Mr.  Forrest  again  objected,  and  accepted  on 
behalf  of  all  the  defendants. 

"  I  understand,"  said  Mr.  Foster,  that  this  testi- 
mony is  not  admissible  except  as  against  the  defend- 
ant, O'Sullivan." 


426  THE   GREAT   CRONIN  MYSTERY 

"  Of  course, "said  Mr.  Hynes,  "  we  recognize  the 
fact  that  admissions  made  after  the  crime  are  only 
competent  against  the  party  making  the  admissions ; 
but  statements  made  before  the  crime,  are  admis- 
sible against  all  the  defendants." 

"  In  a  long  record  like  this,"  said  Mr.  Forrest, 
"  we  had  better  take  our  exceptions  as  we  go 
along." 

"  We  concede,"  said  Judge  Longenecker,  "  that 
this  is  only  evidence  against  O'Sullivan. " 

"  Then  the  gentlemen  agree,"  asked  Mr.  Forrest, 
"  that  in  any  event  this  testimony  is  only  admissi- 
ble against  O'Sullivan." 

"  Yes;  statements  after  the  death,"  said  Mr. 
Hynes.  "  This  is  only  competent  as  to  O'Sullivan. " 

"Where  was  O'Sullivan  —  in  what  part  of  the 
house?"  witness  was  then  asked. 

"  I  was  admitted  by  Mrs.  Whalen  and  taken  into 
the  room.  O'Sullivan  was  there.  I  asked  him  if 
he  had  sent  for  Dr.  Cronin.  He  said  he  had  not. 
I  asked  him  if  he  had  any  man  injured  by  his 
wagons.  He  said  no.  I  said  that  was  singular. 
'  Some  one  called  with  a  buggy  and  presented  your 
card,  and  said  there  was  a  man  hurt  at  your  ice 
house  the  night  before.'  He  took  the  card  from 
me  and  looked  at  it." 

"  This  card?  "  said  Judge  Longenecker,  handing 
the  witness  a  card. 

"  Yes,  sir,"  replied  the  witness.  "  He  said,  when 
he  looked  at  it,  that  it  was  one  of  his  cards  ;  one. of 
the  new  cards  he  had  just  had  printed.  He  said  he 
had  just  got  them  recently." 


THE  TRIAL  427 

"  Do  you  remember  what  was  said  in  regard  to 
anything  further  ?  "  asked  the  State's  Attorney. 

"  I  do  not;  no,  sir.  I  don't  remember  —  very 
little  conversation  occurred.  I  was  in  a  hurry, 
and  I  did  not  stay  long.  Mrs.  Whalen  sug- 
gested   " 

"  Hold  on, "shouted  Mr.  Donahoe  ;  "  We  object." 

"  Was  that  in  O'Sullivan's  presence  ?  "  asked  the 
court." 

"Yes,  sir." 

"  You  may  answer,"  said  the  court. 

"  He  suggested  that  I  go  over  to  the  Lincoln  Ice 
Company's  house  ;  that  perhaps  they  might  have 
taken  him  there.  I  said  I  did  not  think  he  would 
call  there  on  that  card.  I  don't  remember  what 
Mr.  O'Sullivan  said  in  reply  to  that  remark." 

"  Did  you  tell  him  what  the  man  represented  what 
the  doctor  was  wanted  for  ?  " 

"I  did." 

"  Well,  what  did  he  say  to  that?" 

"  I  don't  remember.  I  think  he  said  that  all  his 
men  were  in  early  that  night,  and  Mrs.  Whalen 
corroborated  what  he  said.  She  said  they  were  all 
in  bed  about  nine  o'clock." 

"  Did  you  tell  him  that  the  man  represented  that 
he  was  out  of  town?  " 

"I  did." 

"  What  did  he  say  to  that?  " 

"  He  said  that  was  very  singular. " 


428  THE    GREAT    CRONIN    MYSTERY 

O'SULLIVAN    COULD   NOT    ACCOUNT   FOR   IT. 

"  Did  you  state  what  the  man  represented  to  him 
with  regard  to  one  of  his  men  being  hurt?  " 

"  I  did. " 

"  What  did  he  say  to  that?  " 

"  He  could  not  account  for  it." 

"  When  the  suggestion  was  made  to  go  to  the 
Lincoln  ice  house,  did  you  go?  " 

"No,  sir." 

"  Did  Mr.  O'Sullivan  go  or  volunteer  to  do  any- 
thing for  you?  " 

"No,  sir." 

"  Have  you  stated  all  the  conversation?  " 

"  I  have  —  all  that  I  can  remember." 

"  Was  there  any  one  else  present  at  that  time?  " 

"  No,  only  the  three — Mrs.  Whalen,  Mr.  O'Sul- 
livan and  myself. " 

"  Where  did  you  go  from  there?  " 

"  I  went  to  the  Chicago  avenue  police  head- 
quarters. " 

"  Did  you  see  O'Sullivan  again  that  day?" 

"  In  the  afternoon  I  saw  him  at  our  house." 

"  Who  was  with  him  at  that  time  ?" 

"  Mr.  Murray,  of  the  Pinkerton  agency.  There 
was  also  a  lady  present  on  that  occasion." 

"  Did  you  hear  the  conversation  that  your  wife 
had  with  O'Sullivan  when  he  called  with  Murray  at 
your  house?  " 

"  Part  of  it." 

"  State  what  was  said  by  your  wife  and  O'Sullivan 
at  that  time." 


THE    TRIAL  429 

"  She  asked  Mr.  O'Sullivan  why  he  had  come  six 
or  seven  miles  for  Dr.  Cronin,  passing,  perhaps, 
fifty  doctors  on  the  way,  who  were  just  as  skillful 
as  he." 

"  What  did  he  say  to  that?  " 

"  He  said  he  came  because  Dr.  Cronin  was  highly 
recommended  by  Justice  Mahoney.  Mrs.  Conklin 
asked  him  if  he  (Mr.  O'Sullivan)  knew  Dr.  Cronin. 
He  said  he  did.  Then  she  asked  why  it  was  neces- 
sary to  take  Justice  Mahoney  to  the  doctor's  office, 
to  make  a  contract  with  him  —  that  is,  to  introduce 
him  to  the  doctor  when  he  was  making  his  contract 
with  him.  He  said  he  was  not  very  well  acquainted 
with  Dr.  Cronin.  She  then  said:  'Have  you  ever 
had  an  accident  on  your  wagons,  Mr.  O'Sullivan.' 
He  said  he  never  had.  Then  she  said:  'Why  did 
you  make  such  a  contract,  never  having  had  an 
accident,  and  having  only  three  men  in  your  em- 
ploy?' '  Well/  said  he,  '  I  expected  to  have  more, 
and  might  have  an  accident.'  She  said:  'You  must 
admit,  Mr.  O'Sullivan,  it  looks  very  bad  for  you.' 
He  said:  '  I  know  it  does,  but  I  can't  help  it.'  She 
says:  'Explain.'  He  said:  '  I  can't  explain.'  She 
made  a  remark  that  he  must  explain.  That  was 
about  the  conversation  as  far  as  I  heard  and  recol- 
lected. I  was  waiting  at  the  door:  people  were 
calling  and  coming  and  going,  and  I  left  the  whole 
matter  with  the  folks  —  that  is,  Mrs.  Conklin  and 
Mr.  Murray,  who  was  present  at  the  time." 

"  Had  you  seen  Mr.  Murray  that  morning?" 

"  Yes;  I  went  over  to  his  house." 


430  THE   GREAT   CRONIN   MYSTERY 

"  And  he  brought  him  [O'Sullivan]  to  your 
house?" 

"Yes,  sir." 

"  And  they  went  away  together." 

"  They  went  away  together." 

"  I  now  offer  this  card  in  evidence,"  said  the 
State's  Attorney,  handing  in  the  card  presented  by 
the  stranger  who  drove  Dr.  Cronin  away  on  the 
night  of  May  4th.  It  was  O'Sullivan's  card,  and 
both  Forrest  and  Donahoe  were  instantly  on  their 
feet,  vigorously  objecting  to  its  being  admitted  in 
evidence  at  this  time.  The  court  overruled  the 
objection,  and  Mr.  Forrest  took  his  inevitable  ex- 
ception. 

"  That  is  all,"  said  Judge  Longenecker,  and  the 
witness  was  turned  over  for  cross-examination. 

Mr.  Forrest  appeared  determined  to  rattle  this 
witness,  and,  if  the  rapidity  with  which  his  ques- 
tions were  fired  at  him  could  have  done  so,  he 
would  have  been  successful.  As  it  was,  the  wit- 
ness was  absolutely  unshaken  by  the  ordeal. 

"  You  retained  the  Pinkerton  Detective  Agency 
that  day,  did  you  not?"  asked  Mr.  Forrest. 

"  I  did." 

"  You  saw  Captain  Schaack  that  night,  did  you 
not?" 

"  I  saw  Captain  Schaack  about  twelve  o'clock, 
the  first  time  on  that  day." 

"  When  did  you  first  inform  Captain  Schaack  of 
the  disappearance  of  Dr.  Cronin?" 

"  At  that  time — twelve  o'clock." 


THE   TRIAL  431 

"  Did  you  have  a  lengthy  conversation  with  him 
in  regard  to  the  disappearance?" 

"  No,  sir;  he  would  not  listen  to  any  particulars. 
He  said  he  would  send  out  men  on  the  matter  at 
six  o'clock,  but  he  would  not  talk  about  it  before 
that  time." 

"  Did  you  explain  to  him  what  was  wanted  and 
what  had  taken  place?  " 

"Yes,  sir." 

"At  length?" 

"  Yes,  sir,  but  not  at  that  time." 

"  Well,  that  day;  I  don't  care  what  the  time 
was?  " 

"Yes,  sir." 

"  That  was  Sunday  the  5th?  " 

"Yes,  sir." 

"  The  doctor  disappeared  the  4th?  " 

"Yes,  sir." 

"  And  you  retained  the  Pinkerton  Detective 
Agency  on  Sunday  morning,  the  5th?  " 

"Yes,  sir." 

"  And  on  Sunday  afternoon,  the  5th,  you  ex- 
plained all  the  details,  as  far  as  you  could,  to  Cap- 
tain Schaack?  " 

"Yes,  sir." 

Mr.  Conklin  here  appeared  to  be  desirous  of  get- 
ting in  an  explanation  as  to  his  reasons  for  em- 
ploying the  detective  agency  before  he  gave  the 
particulars  to  Captain  Schaack,  but  Mr.  Forrest 
didn't  want  to  accommodate  him,  and  Mr.  Forrest 
had  his  own  way  about  it. 

"  That  was  Captain  Michael   Schaack,  of  East 


432       THE  GREAT  CRONIN  MYSTERY 

Chicago  Avenue  Station,  wasn't  it?"  asked  the 
lawyer,  emphasizing  each  word  with  his  forefinger, 
and  looking  at  the  jury  the  while. 

"  Yes,  sir,"  replied  the  witness. 

"  And  he  was  a  captain  at  the  very  station  at 
which  Daniel  Coughlin-  was  a  policeman?  " 

"Yes,  sir." 

"  And  that  was  Sunday  afternoon?  " 

"Yes,  sir." 

"  That  is  all,"  said  Mr.  Forrest,  triumphantly 
gathering  his  coat  tails  under  his  arms  and  drop- 
ping into  a  chair. 

IN  BEHALF  OF  THE  ICEMAN. 

Mr.  Donahoe  then  took  a  turn  at  the  witness  in 
behalf  of  his  client  O'Sullivan  and  thrashed  the  same 
straw  all  over  again.  He  made  the  witness  state 
the  hour  at  which  he  called  at  O'Sullivan's  house  ; 
wanted  him  to  admit  that  O'Sullivan  volunteered 
the  information  that  he  had  made  a  contract  with 
Dr.  Cronin,  and  that  he  was  very  busy  at  his  desk 
instead  of  sitting  idling  in  front  of  it  when  the 
witness  called  on  the  night  of  May  5th,  but  Mr. 
Conklin  refused  to  stir  an  inch  from  his  statements 
on  the  direct  examination.  Mr.  Donahoe  laid 
some  stress  upon  the  question  whether  or  not 
O'Sullivan  went  to  his  house  under  arrest  or  volun- 
tarily on  the  Sunday  of  May  5th,  but  Mr.  Conklin 
placidly  admitted,  that,  so  far  as  he  knew,  Mr. 
O'Sullivan  was  not  under  arrest  on  that  occasion. 
The  attorney  also  tried  to  confuse  the  witness  with 
regard  to  the  number  of  men  that  O'Sullivan 


THE   TRIAL  433 

stated  he  had  in  his  employment,  but  Mr.  Conklin 
persisted  that  the  number  he  mentioned  to  him 
was  three.  When  Mr.  Donahoe  had  got  through 
with  the  witness,  attorney  Forrest  said  there  were 
a  few  questions  that  he  had  forgotten  to  put  to 
him. 

"  You  say  you  explained  the  matter  to  Captain 
Schaack  at  four  o'clock,  did  you  not  ?"  asked  the 
lawyer. 

"  Yes,  sir. " 

"  You  were  not  at  the  house  when  the  doctor 
went  away  the  night  before?  " 

"No,  sir." 
"  And  did  not  see  the  stranger  ?" 

"No,  sir." 

"  Had  you  obtained  a  description  of  the  stranger 
from  your  wife?  " 

The  State's  Attorney  objected  to  this  question, 
but  the  court  held  that  it  was  admissible,  and  Mr. 
Forrest  repeated  it.  The  witness  replied  in  the 
affirmative. 

"  Did  you  give  Captain  Schaack  on  that  after- 
noon a  description  of  the  stranger  that  had  driven 
the  doctor  away?  " 

"  I  did  not.  I  did  not  go  into  any  of  the  details 
whatever." 

"  Didn't  you  tell  Captain  Schaack  that  the 
stranger  who  drove  the  doctor  away  was  a  man 
with  a  black  mustache  and  a  black  overcoat?  " 

"No,  sir." 

"  And  didn't  you  and  he  circulate  that  report,  or 

Croniu  Mystery  28 


434  THE   GREAT   CRONIN   MYSTERY 

was  it  not  afterward  circulated  all  over  town  imme- 
diately?" 

"No,  sir." 

This  concluded  the  cross-examination  by  Mr. 
Forrest,  and  in  reply  to  the  State's  Attorney  the 
witness  gave  an  explanation  of  the  fact  that  he  had 
not  discussed  the  details  of  the  matter  with  Captain 
Schaack;  that  the  latter  had  absolutely  refused  to 
talk  with  him  when  he  first  called  on  him. 

"  I  called  Captain  Schaack's  attention  to  the  fact 
that  he  knew  that  Dr.  Cronin  had  enemies;  that 
Dr.  Cronin  had  sent  him  a  circular  which  he  had 
received  long  before,  and  had  asked  him  to  protect 
him  in  regard  to  his  troubles;  that  he  knew  that 
the  doctor  was  liable  to  be  injured  by  some  one, 
and  that  he  ought  to  take  action  immediately  in  the 
matter  in  view  of  these  things.  Captain  Schaack 
then  instructed  his  sergeant,  or  some  one  in  charge, 
to  send  out  a  description  of  the  missing  man.  I 
don't  think  he  mentioned  Dr.  Cronin's  name,  but 
called  him  a  missing  man,  describing  him." 

"  Was  anything  said  in  reference  to  the  man  who 
had  driven  him  away?" 

"  No,  nothing  on  that  subject  was  mentioned.  I 
also  asked  him  to  send  two  or  three  men  up  to 
O'Sullivan's  house  and  investigate  the  matter,  and 
he  said  he  couldn't  do  it." 

Mr.  Forrest  made  one  more  attempt  to  confuse 
the  witness  as  to  dates  and  hours,  but  did  not  suc- 
ceed, and  Mr.  Conklin  was  released. 

Court  then  adjourned  until  ten  o'clock  next  morn- 
ing, October  29th. 


THE   TRIAL  435 

FIFTH  DAY  OF  THE  TRIAL. 

Herald  summary  : 

There  was  a  terrific  crush  at  the  doors  of  the 
Dearborn  street  side  of  the  court  building,  but  only 
those  bearing  credentials  from  the  Sheriff  or  other 
officials  were  admitted. 

Five  members  of  Camp  20  of  the  Clan-na-Gael 
were  placed  on  the  stand  by  the  State. 

They  were  called  to  testify  to  the  inner  workings 
of  this  murderous  camp,  but,  with  a  single  excep- 
tion, the  witnesses  resorted  to  all  manner  of  strategy 
to  hamper  the  prosecution.  The  men  who  were 
summoned  were  Recording  Secretary  John  F. 
O'Connor,  Andrew  Foy,  Junior  Warden  Michael 
J.  Kelly,  Patrick  J.  Ford  and  Stephen  Colleran. 
They  were  all  intensely  nervous  and  embarrassed. 
O'Connor  was  confused  and  palpably  evasive.  Foy 
was  rambling  and  incoherent.  Kelly,  although 
more  concise  than  his  predecessors,  had  an  amaz- 
ingly treacherous  memory.  Ford  was  more  satis- 
factory to  the  State.  His  testimony,  however,  was 
not  sensational.  Big  Stephen  Colleran,  who  was 
the  close  friend  of  Burke  before  the  assassination, 
and  whose  red,  clean-shaven  face  and  massive  jaws 
bear  a  striking  resemblance  to  those  of  the  supposed 
tenant  of  the  Carlson  cottage,  proved  to  be  the  only 
valuable  witness  the  public  prosecutors  have  yet 
drawn  from  the  camp  which  is  claimed  to  have 
plotted  the  death  of  Dr.  Cronin.  The  embarrass- 
ment of  all  the  Clan-na-Gael  witnesses  was  pain- 
fully apparent.  They  quibbled  and  hesitated,  and 
made  some  astounding  assertions  for  men  who 


436  THE   GREAT   CRONIN   MYSTERY 

admitted  that  they  were  present  at  the  now  famous 
meetings  of  the  camps  on  the  nights  of  February  8th 
and  22d.  O'Connor  admitted  that  members  of  the 
order  were  always  known  by  numbers,  and  that  the 
camps  themselves  were  known  to  the  public  by  such 
misleading  titles  as  the  Columbia  Club  and  the 
Washington  Literary  Club.  His  number  was  156. 
Beggs'  number  was  256.  Coughlin,  Burke,  Cooney 
and  O'Sullivan  were  also  members  of  Camp  20.  At 
the  meeting  of  February  8th,  it  is  contended  by  the 
the  State,  a  storm  arose,  during  the  meeting  of  the 
club,  over  an  announcement  made  by  Captain 
Thomas  O'Connor,  that  he  had  heard  Dr.  Cronin 
read,  in  another  camp,  the  report  of  the  committee 
that  had  been  appointed  to  try  the  triangle,  which 
was  then  composed  of  Alexander  Sullivan,  Feeley 
and  Boland.  These  men  had  been  charged  with 
misappropriation  of  funds  belonging  to  the  order, 
and  of  sending  men  to  England  for  no  other  pur- 
pose than  to  get  them  put  away  in  jail.  After 
O'Connor  had  made  this  report,  an  exciting  scene 
ensued,  in  which  Coughlin,  Beggs,  Andrew  Foy 
and  others  took  part.  Foy  declared,  if  Captain 
O'Connor's  declarations  were  true,  that  Le  Caron 
had  been  sent  to  England  and  intrusted  with 
$28,000  of  Clan-na-Gael  money  by  the  executive 
board,  or  triangle,  the  rest  of  the  spies  in  the  order 
should  be  discovered  and  expelled  immediately. 
It  is  also  claimed  by  the  State  that,  at  this  meeting, 
a  motion  was  made  to  appoint  a  secret  committee  to 
discover  how  one  camp  came  in  possession  of  the 
trial  committee's  report  in  advance  of  the  rest  of  the 


THE   TRIAL  437 

camps.  The  recording  secretary,  who  was  present  at 
the  meeting  on  February  8th,  swore  that  he  did  not 
hear  Foy  speak  at  all,  and  could  give  no  intelligent 
account  of  what  Captain  O'Connor  said.  The 
prosecutors  were  evidently  perplexed,  and  broadly 
intimated  that  the  witness  had  testified  differently 
before  the  grand  jury.  Lawyers  Foster  and  Forrest 
played  to  the  jury  by  asserting  that  young  O'Con- 
nor was  frank  and  honest.  The  witness,  however, 
was  so  embarrassed  that  many  of  his  answers  were 
unintelligible.  It  was  not  until  State's  Attorney 
Longenecker  handed  O'Connor  the  record  book  of 
the  minutes  of  the  meeting  of  February  8th,  that  he 
could  positively  assert  that  a  secret  committee  had 
been  appointed  to  investigate  the  reading  of  the 
trial  committee's  report  in  another  camp.  When 
the  public  prosecutor  asked  O'Connor  if  he, 
together  with  Ford,  Kelly,  and  Nolan,  had  not  dis- 
cussed the  propriety  of  destroying  the  books  of  the 
camp,  the  witness  hesitated  long  enough  for  the 
lawyers  of  the  defense  to  fire  a  broadside  of 
objections.  The  court  ruled  that  the  question  was 
improper,  and  the  crimson-faced  witness  looked 
relieved. 

Andrew  Foy's  conduct  on  the  stand  was  as  dam- 
aging to  the  defense  as  that  of  O'Connor.  Even 
trivial  and  inconsequential  details  of  the  meeting  of 
February  8th  had  to  be  wrung  from  these  witnesses. 
On  vital  points  their  faulty  memory  assisted  them 
to  squirm  out  of  small  holes  in  the  most  conspicu- 
ous manner.  The  jurors  were  clearly  disgusted, 
and  from  time  to  time  the  great  audience  manifested 


438  THE   GREAT   CRONIN   MYSTERY 

its  amazement  by  derisive  laughter.  Foy  admitted 
that  he  had  made  "  a  few  remarks  at  the  meeting," 
but  he  was  particular  to  impress  everybody  that  it 
was  no  speech.  He  could  not  tell  whether  he  was 
on  his  feet  or  upon  his  chair  when  he  spoke.  He 
did  not  think  there  was  any  excitement  when 
Captain  O'Connor  made  "  his  remarks."  He  ad- 
mitted that  he  himself  was  "hot"  to  think  that 
Le  Caron  had  been  intrusted  with  the  funds  of  the 
order,  and  confirmed  the  report  that  he  had  said, 
that,  if  there  were^any  more  spies  in  the  camps,  they 
ought  to  be  expelled.  Foy's  number  was  69.  He 
had  seen  Coughlin,  O'Sullivan,  Cooney  and  Burke 
at  the  meeting  of  Camp  20. 

Junior  Guardian  Michael  J.  Kelly  was  another 
quibbler  who  had  seen  nothing  and  heard  nothing 
of  the  salient  points  which  the  State  desired  to  bring 
out  against  Beggs  and  Coughlin.  Patrick  J.  Ford, 
the  "  No.  8  "  of  Camp  20,  was  inclined  to  throw 
more  light  on  the  internal  dissensions  which  were 
then  threatening  the  existence  of  the  order.  He 
sat  with  his  hands  clasped  upon  his  knees  and  with 
a  face  almost  startling  in  its  redness.  Coughlin, 
O'Sullivan,  and  Beggs  never  kept  their  eye  off  the 
witness  all  the  time  he  was  on  the  stand.  Ford  was 
at  the  union  meeting  held  in  the  room  of  Camp  20 
on  Washington's  birthday  of  this  year.  He  heard 
Patrick  McGarry  and  Richard  Powers  speak  at  this 
assembling  of  the  camps  about  the  triangle,  and  the 
charge  that  it  had  been  misappropriating  the  funds 
of  the  order.  Senior  Guardian  Beggs  presided 
over  the  meeting,  and  in  earnest  speech  defended 


THE   TRIAL  439 

Alexander  Sullivan,  whom  he  claimed  was  innocent 
of  the  charge  of  dishonesty.  At  one  time  during 
the  senior  guardian's  harangue  Ford  heard  him  say 
that  he  would  have  peace  or  open  war,  as  he  was 
getting  tired  of  the  bushwhacking  tactics  of  the 
anti-Sullivan  or  Cronin  faction  of  the  order.  There 
was  much  excitement  at  the  meeting,  or,  as  Ford 
described  it,  "  the  members  seemed  to  be  very  much 
heated."  The  witness  had  accompanied  O'Sullivan 
to  a  meeting  of  Camp  20  just  before  the  municipal 
election  in  April.  On  their  way  to  the  hall  O'Sul- 
livan talked  about  the  deputies  fraternizing  with 
the  members  of  Dr.  Cronin's  camp  in  Lake  View. 
With  this  intelligence  in  mind,  he  made  a  speech  in 
Camp  20  that  night  relative  to  the  discovery,  and 
cited  O'Sullivan  as  his  authority. 

It  has  been  claimed  by  the  State  that  the  rank 
and  file  of  the  Clan-na-Gael,  or  of  Camp  20,  at 
last,  were  led  to  believe  Dr.  Cronin  a  spy.  The 
significance  of  Ford's  testimony  relative  to  O'Sul- 
livan's  conversation  with  him  on  their  way  to  a 
meeting  of  Camp  20,  is  found  in  the  iceman's 
attempt  to  strengthen  this  belief  by  making  it  ap- 
pear that  the  Lake  View  camp,  of  which  the  dead 
doctor  was  the  most  conspicuous  figure,  was  a 
rendezvous  for  deputies  as  well  as  for  patriotic  Irish- 
men who  were  battling  to  establish  a  republic  in 
Ireland. 

GOOD   WITNESS   FOR   THE   STATE. 

It  was  nearly  3:30  o'clock  when  Stephen  Col- 
leran,  a  lusty  County  Mayo  lad,  and  a  member  of 


440  THE    GREAT   CRONIN   MYSTERY 

Camp  20,  sat  face  to  face  with  his  old  colleagues. 
The  court-room  was  now  densely  packed.  As  the 
young  man  mounted  the  rostrum  to  take  the  oath, 
Mr.  Forrest  made  the  motion  that  he  be  not  per- 
mitted to  testify,  as  his  name  was  not  upon  the  back 
of  the  indictment  with  the  names  of  the  rest  of  the 
State's  witnesses.  State's  Attorney  Longenecker 
admitted  the  truth  of  the  statement,  but  declared 
that  Colleran  had  been  a  witness  before  the  grand 
jury,  and  that  the  State  had  not  discovered  until 
yesterday  morning  that  it  would  need  him  on  the 
stand.  The  court  permitted  Colleran  to  testify. 
His  story,  although  given  with  evident  unwilling- 
ness and  embarrassment,  was  damaging  to  all  the 
defendants  except  Kunze,  and  showed  that  the  sus- 
pects were  well  acquainted  with  one  another, 
despite  their  assertions  to  the  contrary.  There 
had  been  conflicting  testimony  from  the  rest  of  the 
Clan-na-Gael  witnesses  as  to  the  presence  of  Cough- 
lin,  Burke,  Cooney  and  O'Sullivan  at  the  meeting 
of  February  8th.  Colleran  was  positive  that  the 
first  three  were  in  the  hall,  and  described  with  much 
minuteness  where  Coughlin  and  Cooney  sat.  He 
heard  the  wrangling  over  the  report  of  the  trial 
committee,  but  a  treacherous  memory  now  failed  to 
retain  even  so  much  as  an  intelligent  idea  of  the 
substance  of  the  speeches.  Colleran  has  known 
all  the  defendants,  with  the  exception  of  Kunze,  for 
from  two  to  five  years.  He  used  to  work  with 
Burke  in  the  water  department  of  the  city,  and  after- 
ward chummed  around  town  with  him  when  both 
were  out  of  work.  In  January  and  February  of 


THE   TRIAL  441 

that  year  they  called  three  times  at  the  office  of 
Mr.  Beggs,  who  was  a  lawyer  in  the  Metropolitan 
Block,  and  asked  him  to  use  his  influence  in 
securing  their  reinstatement  in  the  water  depart- 
ment. They  met  Beggs  each  time,  and  talked 
with  him  quite  freely.  As  late  as  March,  or  about 
the  time  the  plot  to  murder  Cronin  was  reaching 
its  maturity,  Colleran  had  seen  Coughlin  and  Burke 
walking  together  in  the  shadow  of  the  Criminal 
Court  building.  He  joined  them  on  the  sidewalk, 
and  all  three  walked  to  Clark  street,  and  thence  to 
Dolan's  saloon,  near  Chicago  Avenue  Police  Station. 
Dolan  was  at  this  time  a  member  of  the  same  camp 
to  which  they  belonged.  The  three  men  took  a 
drink  together,  and  talked  among  themselves  in  the 
saloon  for  about  fifteen  minutes.  The  last  time 
Colleran  saw  Burke  was  the  Sunday  preceding  the 
finding  of  the  body  of  Dr.  Cronin.  They  met  on 
North  Market  street,  and  Burke,  who  was  on  his 
way  northward,  said  he  was  living  at  the  stock- 
yards. 

The  rest  of  the  witness' story  went  to  show  the 
intimacy  of  Cooney,  "  the  Fox,"  Coughlin  and 
Burke.  These  three  men,  whenever  seen  by  Col- 
leran during  the  few  weeks  preceding  the  culmina- 
tion of  the  murderous  branch  of  the  conspiracy, 
were  always  hovering  around  the  den  of  the  camp, 
the  Chicago  Avenue  Police  Station,  and  the  dis- 
trict where  expressman  Mortensen  was  hired  by 
one  of  the  Carlson  cottage  tenants  to  carry  the 
stool-pigeon  furniture  from  the  Clark  street  flat  to 
the  slaughter-house  on  North  Ashland  avenue. 


442  THE   GREAT   CRONIN   MYSTERY 

He  even  saw  Cooney  at  Market  street  and  Chicago 
avenue  the  day  Coughlin  was  arrested.  Shorn  of 
all  verbiage,  the  sensational  testimony  of  witnesses 
showed  that  Beggs  was  acquainted  with  Burke,  that 
Coughlin,  Cooney  and  Burke  were  close  friends, 
and  that  all  four  were  particularly  interested  in  one 
another  during  the  four  months  preceding  the 
butchery. 

Colleran  was  not  a  willing  witness,  but  it  was  evi- 
dent that  he  was  not  possessed  of  the  subtlety  of 
his  camp  colleagues  who  had  appeared  earlier  in 
the  day.  Whenever  he  hesitated  the  finger  and 
blazing  eye  of  Luther  Laflin  Mills  met  his  almost 
despairing  eye  and  seemed  to  wring  from  him  the 
damaging  admissions  which  the  prisoners  heard. 
Coughlin  glared  steadily  at  the  witness  during  the 
time  he  wriggled  in  his  chair,  and  Burke's  face  was 
pale  and  flushed  as  though  colored  lights  were  being 
cast  against  it.  O'Sullivan  and  Beggs  showed  no 
uneasiness.  Little  Kunze  laughed  and  threw  his 
legs  over  the  arm  of  his  chair  as  though  the  testi- 
mony did  not  concern  him  in  the  least.  When  the 
hour  for  adjournment  came,  Colleran  was  still  on 
the  stand.  His  direct  examination  will  be  resumed 
by  Mr.  Mills  this  morning. 

During  the  examination  of  the  Clan-na-Gael 
witness,  Mr.  Forrest,  representing  all  the  defend- 
ants with  the  exception  of  Beggs,  kept  up  a  con- 
stant and  offensive  fire  of  objections.  He  was  on 
his  feet  nearly  every  moment.  When  he  was  not 
objecting  to  the  interrogatories  of  the  State  he  was 
objecting  to  Mr.  Foster's  method  of  cross-examin- 


THE   TRIAL  443 

ing  in  behalf  of  Beggs.  Mr.  Foster  demanded  a 
searching  inquiry  into  the  conduct  of  his  client. 
Mr.  Forrest,  however,  was  not  soliciting  too  much 
light,  and  during  the  day  it  became  apparent  that 
Mr.  Foster  was  for  Beggs  and  Beggs  alone,  while, 
so  far  as  he  is  concerned,  the  devil  can  take  the 
hindmost. 

The  wife  of  liveryman  Dinan,  who  was  on  the 
stand  early  in  the  morning,  testified  to  seeing  the 
white  horse  return  to  the  stable  on  the  night  of  the 
murder.  The  animal  was  steaming  and  blowing 
from  harsh  treatment.  The  mysterious  driver, 
wearing  the  same  soft,  black  hat  and  the  same  old 
faded  coat,  hurried  out  of  the  barn  and  crossed 
Clark  street  in  the  direction  of  the  Chicago  Ave- 
nue Police  Station. 

Court  adjourned  until  ten  o'clock  next  morning, 
October  30th. 


444  THE  GREAT  CRONIN   MYSTERY. 


CHAPTER  XXX. 

WAR  IN  CAMP  TWENTY — BRAVE  WORDS  OF  BRAVE 
MEN  —  No  AFFILIATION,  No  TRUCE,  WITH 
ROBBERS  AND  TRAITORS — "  LET  Us  KNOW  THE 
TRUTH" — OUTSPOKEN  CAPTAIN  T.  F.  O'CON- 
NOR—  BOILER-MAKER  MCGARRY'S  RINGING 
BLOWS. 

OCTOBER  30,  in  open  court,  a  disclosure  was  made 
by  honest  Irishmen  of  one  night's  proceedings  in 
Camp  2O,  that  opens  to  the  imagination  a  scene  of 
intense  dramatic  interest. 

Two  gallant  men  on  that  occasion  stood  boldly 
fronting  the  adherents  and  emissaries  of  thieves  and 
betrayers. 

In  spite  of  sneers,  threats,  yells,  the  frownings 
and  adverse  rulings  of  official  authority,  two 
honest,  fearless,  warm-hearted  Irishmen  arose, 
almost  without  other  friends  to  support  them;  and, 
well  knowing  that  they  were  about  to  incur  the 
hatred,  to  risk  the  deadly  vengeance,  of  unscrupu- 
lous foes,  they  demanded  to  know,  in  the  name  of 
their  plundered,  outraged  brothers,  why  charges  qf 
a  criminal  nature  made  against  unfaithful  leaders 
were  not  investigated,  and,  at  the  same  time,  in  a 
spirit  of  true  fraternity,  they  defended  against  the 
mutterings  of  malice,  the  open  defamation  of  his 
character,  a  man  whom  they  instinctively  knew  to 
be  faithful  in  all  things,  a  man  whom  they  proudly 
^called  their  friend,  Dr.  P.  _H.  Croninc 


WAR   IN    CAMP    TWENTY.  445 

Captain  Thomas  F.  O'Connor  is  a  grand  type  of 
the  Irish-American."  Soldier  is  written  in  his  face, 
told  in  his  bearing,  and  speaks  with  every  word 
coming  from  his  lips. 

He  has  been  a  member  of  the  Clan-na-Gael  for 
twenty  or  twenty-five  years;  connected  with 
Camp  20  for  nearly  sixteen  years. 

In  December,  1888,  or  January,  1889,  he  visited 
the  camp  to  which  Dr.  Cronin  belonged,  and  there 
he  heard  read  a  report  relating  to  the  trial  of  the 
executive  committee.  Its  disclosures  grieved  and 
angered  him. 

At  his  own  camp,  No.  20,  on  the  night  of  Feb- 
ruary 8,  1889,  he  heard  Andrew  Foy  address  the 
Senior  Guardian,  and  state  that  he  believed  that 
there  were  four  British  spies  in  the  organization, 
that  the  society  should  be  reorganized  and  given  a 
new  name,  and  that  every  one  upon  whom  rested 
a  taint  of  suspicion  should  be  expelled  and  debarred 
from  all  contact  and  association  with  the  body. 

Well  did  Captain  O'Connor  know  at  whom  these 
covert  insinuations  were  directed;  well  he  knew  the 
object  with  which  such  proposition  was  made,  nor 
was  he  blind  to  the  fact  that  such  dissolution  of  the 
existing  order  and  its  reorganization  was  to  cover 
up  misdeeds  that  were  likely  to  be  unveiled  when 
men,  fearless  and  independent  of  the  Triangle, 
were  still  in  the  order  to  demand  their  rights  and 
question  those  to  whom  they  had  delegated 
authority. 

When  Foy  had  concluded  his  speech,  Captain 
O'Connor  arose,  and  said  that  he  was  not  surprised 


446      THE  GREAT  CRONIN  MYSTERY. 

to  hear  such  a  proposition.  He  knew  positively 
that  the  organization  was  controlled  by  a  clique  of 
rogues  known  as  the  Executive  Board,  that  they  had 
squandered  the  funds  of  the  society  to  the  amount 
of  at  least  $100,000,  and,  not  only  that,  they  had 
sent  brave,  unselfish  men  to  England,  under  orders 
to  carry  out  their  projects,  and  had  betrayed  these 
same  men  into  British  prisons. 

He  stated  that  he  knew  the  spy  Le  Caron  to  have 
been  an  agent  of,  and  to  have  received  pay  from, 
this  same  Executive  Board. 

Then  there  was  a  yell  of  rage  and  hate,  and  open 
threats  against  this  man  of  truth,  by  the  tools  of 
the  Trianglers.  It  was  demanded  that  he  give  his 
source  of  information. 

"  I  did  not  like  the  brother  who  first  made  this 
demand,"  said  Captain  O'Connor,  "  so  I  replied: 
'You  demand  nothing.' 

"  Then  two  or  three  others,  amidst  the  general 
uproar,  made  the  same  inquiry  of  me.  I  turned  to 
the  Senior  Guardian  and  said  that,  if  he  demanded 
the  information  from  me,  I  would  reply  to  him. 

"  But  the  Senior  Guardian  would  not  ask  the 
question;  and,  while  the  tumult  still  raged,  three 
times  I  offered  to  reply  if  he  would  request  that  I 
tell  where  I  gained  the  knowledge. 

"  At  that  instant  Daniel  Coughlin,  a  member  of 
the  camp,  arose,  and  said:  '  Mr.  Guardian,  I  move 
you  that  a  secret  committee  of  three  be  appointed 
to  find  out  the  source  of  Captain  O'Connor's  informa- 
tion.' Those  were  his  words.  Then  some  one  else 
was  on  his  feet,  and  the  Senior  Guardian  rapped 


WAR  IN   CAMP   TWENTY.  447 

the  camp  to  order.  It  way  a  tumultuous  time  — 
such  turmoil — and  somebody  spoke,  and  he  said: 
'I  will  hear  no  more  of  this  subject,  and  I  will 
appoint  a  committee.'" 

Who  was  this  Senior  Guardian  ? 

John  F.  Beggs. 

And  the  secret  committee  was  appointed  by  John 
F.  Beggs;  and  then  and  there,  to  do  the  bidding  of 
their  masters,  to  hide  robbery  and  betrayal  of  trust, 
a  blacker  crime  was  meditated,  and  the  vendetta 
of  the  inner  circle  was  pronounced  against  Dr. 
Patrick  Henry  Cronin. 

Side  by  side  with  Captain  O'Connor,  sharing 
danger  and  honor  equally  with  him,  stands  Patrick 
McGarry,  the  boiler-maker;  Senior  Guardian  of  a 
friendly  camp,  and  a  true  friend  to  Dr.  Cronin  and 
honesty.  As  he  retold  in  court  the  story  of  the 
quarrels  in  the  Clan-na-Gael  organization,  the  effect 
was  startling  as  his  manner  of  telling  it  was 
dramatic. 

The  effect  of  his  homely  oratory,  repeating,  in 
phrases  devoid  of  any  attempt  at  rhetorical  orna- 
mentation, the  speech  he  delivered  at  the  famous 
reunion  of  February  22d,  impressed  upon  all  a  deep 
respect  for  the  man  who  had  stood  up  for  the  honor 
of  his  absent  friend,  attacked  by  the  adherents  of 
the  Triangle. 

His  story  of  the  tumult  in  Camp  20,  on  that 
memorable  reunion  night,  carried  with  it  the  stun- 
ning ring  and  clang  of  the  boiler  shop  to  the  ears 
of  the  defense,  but  to  the  prosecution  and  the  jury 
every  word  was  as  the  striking  of  the  hammer  weld- 


448  THE   GREAT   CRONIN   MYSTERY. 

ing  into  place  a  rivet  in  the  sacrificial  caldron  in 
tvhich  the  conspiracy  was  to  be  immolated. 

He  closed  his  eyes  while  he  spoke,  as  if  to  recall 
more  vividly  the  scene,  and,  gathering  strength  at 
every  word,  he  repeated  his  fierce  utterances  of 
that  night  against  the  foes  of  his  native  land  and 
idopted  country.  A  happy  description  of  the 
Parnell  Commission  as  the  "  Forgery  Commission  " 
served  as  a  flash-light  to  show  that  the  witness  was 
in  accord  with  the  true  patriots  of  Ireland,  and  his 
blunt  denunciation  of  "  the  cowards  who  would  lay 
for  a  man  in  back  alleys "  caused  a  perceptible 
wince  among  the  prisoners. 

John  F.  Beggs  acknowledged  that  he  knew  who 
was  referred  to  as  "  a  greater  scoundrel  than 
Le  Caron."  Beggs  said  he  knew  "  it  meant  Alex- 
ander Sullivan,"  and  he  "  was  proud  to  proclaim 
himself  as  a  friend  of  that  individual." 

McGarry  told  also  how,  when  the  murder  was 
known,  he  had  sought  out  iceman  O'Sullivan  to 
demand  from  him  an  explanation  of  the  mysterious 
compact. 

A  thrill  ran  through  the  court-room  as  he 
repeated  what  he  had  said  to  the  iceman  at  that 
time.  He  told  how  Dr.  Cronin's  life  had  been 
attempted  once  before,  and  how  the  intended  vic- 
tim had  made  his  escape,  shouting,  as  he  plunged 
desperately  down  a  dark  stairway,  "  My  God!  did 
you  bring  me  here  to  murder  me?  " 


WAR   IN   CAMP   TWENTY  449 

It  was  on  the  sixth  day  of  the  trial  that  these 
important  disclosures  of  Captain  O'Connor  and 
Patrick  McGarry  were  made.  The  morning's  pro- 
ceedings were  opened  by  State's  Attorney  Longe- 
necker  taking  out  an  attachment  for  Edward  Spell- 
man,  of  Peoria,  whom  he  would  be  able  to  give 
some  important  testimony  bearing  on  the  secret 
committee  appointed  by  John  F.  Beggs. 

Dennis  O'Connor  was  the  first  witness  called  to 
testify.  Resides  at  No.  265  North  Franklin  street; 
is  a  trustee  of  the  United  Brotherhood,  and  a  mem- 
ber of  Camp  No.  20.  Was  at  the  meeting  Febru- 
ary 8th,  and  heard  Foy  speak,  but  failed  to  remem- 
ber what  he  said;  heard  Captain  O'Connor  speak 
also,  in  which  he  stated  that  up  in  Cronin's  camp  he 
had  heard  reports  read  —  a  minority  report  bearing 
on  the  trial  committee  that  met  at  Buffalo  to  try  the 
executive  body.  Witness  remembered  that  Cap- 
tain O'Connor  said  the  report  reflected  somewhat 
on  the  executive  body,  in  getting  away  with  the 
funds  of  the  order,  and  one  thing  and  another. 
Remembers,  that,  after  Captain  O'Connor  finished 
his  speech,  a  committee  was  appointed.  Somebody 
made  a  motion  to  have  a  committee  appointed  to 
go  up  to  Dr.  Cronin's  camp  and  investigate  that 
minority  report  that  he  was  reading;  couldn't  say 
who  made  that  motion.  The  motion  was  carried, 
but  witness  could  not  remember  who  were  appointed 
on  the  committee.  Presumed  the  senior  guardian 
appointed  the  committee,  as  he  was  the  one  to 
appoint  such  committees. 

Mr.  Forrest  moved  to  have  trie  testimony  of  the 

Croniu  Mystery  2g 


45O      THE  GREAT  CRONIN  MYSTERY 

witness  stricken  from  the  record.  The  motion  was 
overruled.  Mr.  Forrest  then  cross-examined  the 
witness,  but  he  made  no  material  variance  in  his 
testimony. 

In  reply  to  a  question  asked  by  cross-examiner 
Foster,  Mr.  O'Connor  said  that  there  were  "  a  great 
many  things  going  on  in  Camp  20  about  that  time 
that  he  didn't  take  any  stock  in."  Financial  Sec- 
retary Patrick  Henry  Nolan  was  an  important  wit- 
ness. At  the  meeting  on  May  loth  he  heard  the 
mysterious  voice  ask  if  the  secret  committee  had 
reported.  Senior  Guardian  Beggs,  who  was  sit- 
ting within  six  yards  of  O'Connor,  replied  that  that 
committee  would  report  to  him  alone.  On  the  day 
following  the  murder,  he  met  Burke  and  Cooney  at 
Patrick  Dolan's  saloon  on  Clark  street.  Cooney 
wore  a  new  hat,  and  when  O'Connor  chaffed  him 
about  his  extravagance,  "  the  fox  "  asked  all  hands 
to  the  bar  to  take  a  drink.  From  Dolan's  saloon 
they  went  to  another  saloon  and  played  cards  for 
two  hours.  When  he  left,  Burke  and  Cooney  were 
still  in  the  saloon.  O'Connor,  in  reply  to  a  ques- 
tion from  Juror  Allison,  said  he  was  a  member  of 
the  auditing  committee  of  Camp  20;  and,  following 
the  same  line  of  inquiry  from  Mr.  Foster,  declared 
that  he  was  not  aware  that  either  he  or  his  associ- 
ate's had  been  accused  of  the  destruction  or  loss  of 
a  book. 

There  was  a  suppressed  sensation  when  Captain 
Thomas  F.  O'Connor,  a  captain  of  the  Clan-na-Gael 
Guards,  a  Fenian  captain,  a  Clan-na-Gael  member 
for  twenty-four  years,  and  a  stanch  supporter  of 


WAR   IN   CAMP   TWENTY  45 1 

Dr.  Cronin  in  the  latter's  merciless  war  against  the 
triangle,  walked  hurriedly  into  the  room  and  took 
the  witness  chair.  Coughlin  grinned  sarcastically 
as  his  eyes  met  those  of  the  intrepid  witness.  Cap- 
tain O'Connor  was  not  embarrassed.  He  sat  with 
his  big  overcoat  buttoned  closely  about  his  neck, 
and  spoke  in  a  loud  voice.  His  testimony  was  a 
direct  attack  upon  Coughlin  and  Beggs.  After  An- 
drew Foy's  speech  in  Camp  20  on  February  8th,  in 
which  he  declared,  that  if  there  were  yet  four  British 
spies  in  the  Clan-na-Gael  organization,  as  Le  Caron 
had  sworn  before  the  Parnell  commission  in  Lon- 
don, the  order  ought  to  be  destroyed  at  once,  the 
witness  arose,  and,  facing  Senior  Guardian  Beggs, 
said  the  camps  ought  to  look  to  the  triangle  for 
traitors,  as  he  now  had  positive  information  that 
Le  Caron  was  the  agent  of  the  trinity.  A  scene  of 
wild  confusion  ensued.  Brother  members  leaped 
to  their  feet,  and  demanded  the  source  of  the 
speaker's  information.  Captain  O'Connor  replied 
that  he  would  give  details  if  he  were  so  commanded 
by  the  senior  guardian,  but  Mr.  Beggs  issued  no 
such  order.  During  the  uproar  Daniel  Coughlin 
sprang  to  his  feet  and  made  a  motion  that  a  secret 
committee  be  appointed  to  investigate  the  genesis 
of  Captain  O'Connor's  information,  which  was 
pretty  generally  understood  to  be  Dr.  Cronin's 
camp.  The  witness  saw  Burke  and  Cooney  in  the 
room  during  the  uproar,  and  Captain  O'Connor 
could  not  remember  the  words  Beggs  uttered  in 
reply  to  the  motion  of  Coughlin,  but  he  was  posi- 


452  THE    GREAT   CRQNIN   MYSTERY 

tive  that  he  did  not  say  that  it  was  the  duty  of  the 
district  officer  to  look  after  such  matters. 

Henry  O'Connor,  who  followed  the  captain  on 
the  witness  stand,  remembered  the  uproar  which 
followed  the  latter's  admonition  to  the  camp  that 
the  real  traitors  were  in  the  triangle  and  heard  the 
demand  for  a  secret  investigating  committee.  The 
witness  then  made  a  long  stitch  in  Coughlin's 
shroud.  Amid  intense  silence  he  told  how,  at  the 
meeting  of  Camp  20,  on  March  i  of  this  year, 
Coughlin  had  approached  him  at  the  doorway  of 
the  hall,  and  said  that  information  had  been  re- 
ceived in  Chicago  of  the  presence  among  them  of 
a  confederate  of  Le  Caron,  and  that  the  indications 
were  that  the  spy  was  Dr.  Cronin.  O'Connor 
stopped  the  detective  at  this  point,  and  replied  that 
it  was  the  duty  of  the  camp  to  look  to  the  triangle 
for  the  confederates.  This  bold  declaration  ended 
the  conversation.  O'Connor  was  at  the  meeting 
on  May  loth,  and  heard  the  inquiry  relative  to  the 
secret  committee.  The  cross-examination  of  the 
witness  drew  out  the  admission  that  he  did  not 
even  have  so  much  as  a  speaking  acquaintance 
with  Dr.  Cronin.  The  testimony  of  Police  Officer 
John  F.  Collins  merely  corroborated  some  of  the 
statements  of  preceding  witnesses  without  eliciting 
anything  new. 

PATRICK  M'GARRY  APPEARS. 

It  was  getting  dark  in  the  court-room  when  the 
athletic  form  of  Patrick  McGarry  stalked  past  the 
jurors  and  up  the  steps  leading  to  the  witness  stand. 


WAR  IN  CAMP   TWENTY  453 

The  man's  hands  were  black  and  hardened  from 
toil.  He  is  a  boiler  manufacturer  and  a  member  of 
Dr.  Cronin's  camp.  Without  wasting  any  time, 
State's  Attorney  Longenecker  drew  the  witness  to 
the  exciting  scene  in  Camp  20  onMay22d  when  he 
arose  and  made  his  bitter  attack  on  the  triangle. 

"  What  did  you  say  on  that  occasion?  "  asked  the 
public  prosecutor. 

The  witness,  turning  his  honest-looking  face  to 
the  jury  below  him,  said:  "  I  said  it  was  all  very 
well  to  talk  of  unity,  and  I  wanted  to  see  unity 
among  the  Irish  people,  but  there  could  not  be 
unity  while  members  of  this  organization  would 
meet  in  back  alleys  and  in  dark  corners,  and  vilify 
and  abuse  the  man  (Cronin)  who  had  the  courage 
to  stand  out  and  take  traitorism  and  robbery  by  the 
throat  and  strangle  it.  I  said  I  was  rearing  children 
and  educating  children,  and  so  long  as  God  allowed 
me  to  be  over  them  I  would  educate  them  first  as 
Americans,  and  also  educate  them,  that  if  ever  there 
should  come  an  opportunity  to  strike  a  blow  for 
Ireland's  freedom,  they  should  do  so.  I  said  they 
could  not  be  too  particular  about  getting  members 
in  the  organization,  and  that  I  had  been  investigat- 
ing Le  Caron's  record.  I  also  said  that  there  were 
men  in  the  organization  that  were  worse  than  Le 
Caron.  I  said,  too,  that  the  man  who  gave  Le 
Caron  his  credentials  to  go  into  the  convention  was 
a  greater  scoundrel  than  ever  Le  Caron  could  pre- 
tend to  be." 

The  speech  was  repeated  in  a  rich,  resonant  voice, 
which  frequently  quavered  in  its  greatest  inflections. 


454  THE   GREAT   CRONIN    MYSTERY 

As  the  witness  finished,  a  suppressed  outburst  of 
applause  came  from  the  benches  at  the  east  side  of 
the  hall.  McGarry,  continuing  his  story,  told  how 
Beggs  had  attacked  him  for  coming  among  the 
friends  of  Alexander  Sullivan  to  sow  the  seeds  of 
dissension  and  discord,  and  how  the  senior  guardian 
had  branded  him  as  a  coward  for  excoriating  a  man 
who  was  not  present  to  defend  himself.  When  the 
uproar  had  subsided,  McGarry  again  secured  the 
floor,  and  in  a  speech  as  fierce  as  his  first  assault  on 
the  triangle,  defended  his  honor  by  declaring  that 
he  was  prepared  to  express  his  opinion  of  Alexan- 
der Sullivan  in  any  place  and  before  anybody. 
There  was  another  ripple  of  applause  from  the  audi- 
ence. 

When  the  witness  heard  that  Dr.  Cronin  was 
missing,  he  went  to  O'Sullivan's  house,  and  there, 
in  the  presence  of  four  or  five  men  and  a  woman 
whom  he  did  not  know,  pointed  out  the  iceman's 
suspicious  association  with  the  mystery,  as  Mrs. 
Conklin  had  done  a  few  hours  before.  The  iceman 
admitted  that  things  looked  badly  for  him.  One  of 
the  strange  men  suggested  at  the  conference  that 
perhaps  the  United  Order  of  Deputies  had  made 
away  with  the  doctor,  but  McGarry  declared  that 
the  crime  was  much  nearer  home,  and  that  it  would 
be  found  that  his  own  race  had  killed  him.  When 
the  strange  man  referred  to  the  deputies,  McGarry, 
suddenly  turning  his  head,  saw  O'Sullivan  make  a 
grimace  which  might  be  construed  as  an  admoni- 
tion to  say  nothing  more.  McGarry  then  told 
O'Sullivan  and  his  companions  how  Dr.  Cronin  had 


WAR   IN   CAMP   TWENTY  455 

previously  been  lured  to  a  den  to  attend  a  fictitious 
sufferer,  and  how  he  was  forced  to  run  down-stairs, 
two  steps  at  a  time,  to  escape  death  from  the  hands 
of  conspirators  who  were  hidden  in  the  room. 

The  court  adjourned  until  next  morning,  Octo- 
ber 3 1  st. 

SEVENTH  DAY  OF  THE  TRIAL. 

The  proceedings  were  opened  by  Mr.  Donahoe 
moving  to  exclude  from  the  consideration  of  the 
jury  that  portion  of  Patrick  McGarry's  testimony, 
given  the  previous  evening,  in  which  he  described 
the  conversation  which  he  had  had  with  O'Sullivan 
at  the  latter's  house  when  he  called  there  to  find 
out  what  O'Sullivan  knew  about  the  disappearance 
of  Dr.  Cronin,  and  informed  him  of  the  suspicions 
that  rested  upon  him  on  account  of  the  contract  he 
had  made  with  Dr.  Cronin,  and  the  fact  that  Dr. 
Cronin  had  been  called  away  in  pursuance  of  this 
contract  by  a  person  who  presented  O'Sullivan's 
card.  The  motion  was  taken  under  advisement  by 
the  court,  and  at  the  afternoon  session  the  State's 
Attorney  conceded  that  the  portion  relating  to  the 
remark  of  some  one  present  in  O'Sullivan's  house 
concerning  the  previous  attempt  on  Dr.  Cronin's 
life  was  not  in  order  ;  the  other  portion  of  the  mat- 
ter was  ruled  to  be  admissible. 

George  Reily,  a  barkeeper,  238  East  Chicago 
avenue,  was  the  first  witness  examined.  He  stated 
that  one  night  in  March  last  Coughlin,  in  a  harangue 
of  the  approaching  municipal  election,  declared, 
that,  if  a  certain  Catholic  on  the  North  Side  did  not 


456  THE   GREAT   CRONIN   MYSTERY 

stop  talking  so  much,  he  would  get  the  worst  of  it. 
He  was  then  speaking  to  O'Sullivan  in  a  saloon  on 
East  Chicago  avenue. 

Mr.  Forrest  moved  to  exclude  this  testimony 
given  by  Reily,  but  the  court  allowed  it  to  stand. 
The  witness,  on  cross-examination,  admitted  that 
Coughlin  might  have  said  "  prominent "  instead  of 
"  North  Side  Catholic,"  though  he  was  certain  he 
said  Catholic. 

The  State  maintains  that  the  prominent  North 
Side  Catholic  who  was  talking  so  much  about  that 
time  was  Dr.  Cronin,  and  that  Coughlin's  threat, 
whether  made  in  the  course  of  a  political  or  a  Clan- 
na-Gael  discussion,  showed  the  violent  hatred  the 
detective  had  for  the  doctor.  James  A.  Quin  was 
the  next  to  testify.  He  corroborated  the  testimony 
of  Reily. 

A  broken,  blood-smeared  trunk,  containing  a  lot 
of  dirty  cotton  batting,  was  the  chief  object  of  in- 
terest at  the  Cronin  trial  yesterday.  Judge,  jurors, 
lawyers,  bailiffs,  reporters,  and  spectators  all  tried 
hard  to  get  as  good  a  view  of  it  as  possible,  but  to 
the  five  men  on  trial  it  was  nothing  but  an  object 
of  disgust,  and  all  of  them  turned  away  their  heads 
as  Bailiff  Champion  and  Mr.  Kickham  Scanlan  were 
seen  lugging  the  foul  thing  into  court,  and,  as  it  was 
carried  past  the  prisoners'  row,  the  only  man  of  the 
five  who  appeared  to  notice  it,  was  the  young  Ger- 
man, Kunze,  lying  sick  in  an  easy-chair,  his  head 
propped  up  on  the  pillows  and  his  face  turned 
toward  the  west  wall  of  the  court-room. 

Apart    from  the  morbid  excitement  caused  by 


WAR   IN   CAMP    TWENTY  457 

the  introduction  of  the  trunk  itself,  its  presence 
within  a  few  feet  of  the  front  row  of  jurors  had 
another  effect.  Strong  though  its  splintered  sides 
were  shown  to  have  been,  its  shattered  hinges, 
broken  lock,  and  gaping  hole  in  the  cover,  through 
which  a  glimpse  of  its  ghastly  interior  could  be  had, 
proved  it  was  not  invulnerable.  As  a  type  of  the 
conspiracy,  brought  into  court  shattered  and  dis- 
organized, it  was  significant,  while  the  evidences  of 
crime  revealed  to  the  eyes  of  the  jury  by  lifting  the 
lid,  were  even  more  emblematic  of  the  disclosures 
of  interior  rottenness  of  the  controlling  powers  of 
the  Clan-na-Gael. 

W.  P.  Hatfield,  the  salesman  for  A.  H.  Revell 
&  Co.,  who  had  sold  the  furniture  to  "  J.  B. 
Simons,"  was  the  witness  whose  testimony  was 
clinched  by  the  introduction  of  the  broken  trunk. 
Of  all  the  articles  in  the  "  bill  of  goods  "  selected 
haphazard  by  the  mysterious  tenant  of  the  flat  at 
No.  117  Clark  street,  the  trunk  alone  seemed  to 
concern  the  purchaser.  He  had  insisted  on  its 
being  a  big  trunk  and  a  strong  one,  and,  to  make 
sure  of  the  latter  requirement,  he  had  purchased  a 
thick  strap  to  go  around  it.  Even  the  strap  itself 
furnished  another  particle  of  evidence  of  the  man's 
anxiety  about  the  strength  of  the  trunk.  The  first 
one  purchased  was  not  strong  enough,  and  Simonds 
returned  the  next  day  to  procure  one  still  stronger. 
The  "  next  day  "  was  two  days  before  the  famous 
reunion  meeting  at  Camp  No.  20,  and  less  than 
two  weeks  after  the  secret  committee  had  been 
appointed. 


458      THE  GREAT  CRONIN  MYSTERY 

Mr.  Hatfield  told  the  jury  how  his  customer  had 
laid  stress  on  the  fact  that  the  goods  purchased 
were  only  for  temporary  use,  a  statement  that  one 
glance  at  the  broken  trunk  confirmed. 

O 

John  W.  Sampson  testified  that  two  years  ago, 
Coughlin  approached  him  at  LaSalle  avenue  and 
Erie  street,  with  a  proposition  to  lay  in  ambuscade 
near  the  Windsor  Theater,  and  slug  Dr.  Cronin  as 
he  returned  home  at  night.  Sampson  thought  the 
undertaking  too  hazardous,  but  Coughlin,  being 
desirous  that  the  work  should  be  done,  and  done 
well,  suggested  that  he  get  another  man  to  assist 
him  in  the  slugging.  During  this  interview,  Will- 
iam Lynn,  a  friend  of  Sampson,  stood  upon  a 
corner  on  the  opposite  side  of  the  street.  Lynn 
testified  to  the  meeting  of  Coughlin  and  Sampson. 
Both  witnesses  were  subjected  to  a  merciless  cross- 
examination  by  Mr.  Forrest.. 

Sampson  was  forced  to  admit  having  a  most 
extraordinary  criminal  career,  and  possessing  no 
visible  means  of  support.  He  had  been  a  "  shell- 
worker,"  and  was  frequently  arrested  by  Coughlin 
on  charges  of  robbery  and  vagrancy.  The  witness 
denied,  however,  that  he  had  been  convicted  on 
these  charges,  and  declared  with  much  evidence  of 
passion,  that  Coughlin's  pursuit  of  him  was  in  the 
nature  of  persecution.  The  young  man  was  in- 
tensely nervous,  but  he  succeeded  in  rattling  the 
cross-examiner  and  the  prisoners,  and  provoking 
an  outburst  of  applause,  when,  in  reply  to  a  declar- 
ation by  Mr.  Forrest  that  shell  playing  was  a  felony, 
he  exclaimed  that  it  was  not  murder,  anyhow.  The 


WAR  IN   CAMP  TWENTY  459 

cross-examination  failed  to  shake  the  essential  point 
the  State  tried  to  establish,  as  to  the  meeting  of 
Coughlin  and  Sampson. 

The  next  witness  called  on  behalf  of  the  State 
was  William  Linn,  who  was  formerly  a  police 
officer  and  lives  at  141  North  Market  street.  He 
said  that  he  was  acquainted  with  John  W.  Sampson, 
commonly  called  Major  Sampson,  and  had  known 
him  about  ten  years.  He  remembered  going  with 
him  to  see  Daniel  Coughlin  about  two  years  ago. 

Mr.  Forrest  objected  to  the  testimony,  but  the 
court  allowed  it  to  come  in. 

Linn  went  on  to  say  that  he  started  in  company 
with  Simpson  from  the  corner  of  Ontario  and 
Market  streets,  and  went  to  the  corner  of  Erie  and 
LaSalle  streets,  where  they  saw  Coughlin  on  the  op- 
posite side  of  the  street.  This  was  about  eight  o'clock 
in  the  evening.  They  went  down  LaSalle  street  to 
between  Erie  and  Huron,  on  the  east  side  of  the 
street,  and  stood  there  talking  together,  and  Samp- 
son left  Coughlin  there. 

Mr.  Forrest  moved  to  exclude  the  entire  testi- 
mony of  this  witness,  but  the  court  allowed  it  to 
stand  on  the  ground  that  it  was  corroborative  of 
the  preceding  witness,  and  Mr.  Forrest  once  more 
fell  back  upon  his  exception. 

Joseph  C.  O'Keefe  was  the  next  witness  called 
on  behalf  of  the  State,  and  was  examined  by  Judge 
Longenecker.  He  lives  at  1233  North  Halsted 
street,  and  is  a  merchant  tailor.  He  is  a  member 
of  Camp  250  of  the  Clan-na-Gaels,  and  has  known 
John  F.  Beggs  for  about  a  year.  He  had  met 


460  THE   GREAT   CRONIN   MYSTERY 

Beggs  at  a  meeting  of  Camp  96,  now  20,  some 
time  in  September,  1888. 

"  Did  you  have  a  conversation  with  John  F. 
Beggs  in  relation  to  Dr.  Cronin  and  Alexander 
Sullivan?" 

"Yes,  sir." 

"Where?" 

"  Coming  from  Turner  Hall  on  Clark  street  as 
far  as  Madison  and  Clark,  after  the  adjournment  of 
the  meeting. " 

"  Will  you  state  to  this  jury  what  John  F. 
Beggs  then  said  to  you  in  reference  to  Cronin?  " 

"  We  were  speaking  first  in  reference  to  the 
union  of  the  two  orders,  and  John  F.  Beggs  said 
that  he  did  not  have  very  much  confidence  in  the 
new  executive  that  was  elected.  Then  the  trial 
committees  came  under  discussion,  and  he  said  that 
Dr.  Cronin  was  not  a  proper  man  to  put  on  a  trial 
committee  to  try  Alexander  Sullivan.  I  said  Dr. 
Cronin  did  not  have  as  unsavory  a  record  as  James 
Rogers,  of  Brooklyn,  another  one  of  the  trial  com- 
mittee. Then  John  F.  Beggs  told  me  that  Dr. 
Cronin  admitted  Dan  Coughlin  as  a  member  of  96 
without  the  form  of  initiation,  and  furnished  him 
with  the  passes  to  go  in  with." 

Mr.  Forrest  noted  an  objection,  and  cross- 
examined  the  witness,  but  failed  to  shake  his  testi- 
mony. 

Cornelius  Flynn,  a  teamster,  living  at  150  North 
Halsted  street,  and  a  member  of  Camp  250,  was 
next  called  as  a  witness  for  the  State,  and  examined 
by  Judge  Longenecker.  He  corroborated  the  testi- 


WAR   IN   CAMP   TWENTY  461 

mony  of  Mr.  O'Keefe  as  to  the  conversation  above 
detailed,  and  as  to  the  language  which  Beggs  had 
used  in  reference  to  Dr.  Cronin. 

"  Mr.  Beggs  told  O'Keefe,"  he  said,  "  that  they 
had  no  right  to  put  Cronin  on  the  trial  committee; 
that  he  was  a  detriment  to  the  organization.  He 
said  something  then  about  Coughlin  —  that  Cronin 
had  admitted  him  in  the  organization  without  being 
initiated.  I  said  that  was  a  pretty  hard  thing  to 
believe." 

Mr.  Forrest  made  the  same  motion  for  the  exclu- 
sion of  this  witness'  testimony,  and  it  was  again 
overruled. 

The  pcxt  witness  called  was  Edward  G.  Throck- 
morton,  of  183  Dearborn  avenue. 

He  stated  that  he  was  cashier  and  bookkeeper 
for  Messrs.  Knight  &  Marshall,  in  whose  employ 
he  had  been  about  three  years.  The  place  of  busi- 
ness of  the  firm  is  97  Clark  street. 

"  Do  they  have  charge  of  the  premises  situated 
at  1 17  South  Clark  street,  in  the  city  of  Chicago?  " 

"Yes,  sir." 

"  Did  you,  last  February,  rent  the  upper  part  of 
that  flat  to  any  one?  " 

"  I  did;  yes,  sir." 

Mr.  Forrest  here  objected  to  the  testimony  of  the 
witness,  and  was  overruled  by  the  court. 

"  Tell  the  jury,"  said  Mr.  Ingham,  "  all  that  you 
know  of  that  transaction." 

"  That  is  what  we  object  to,  "said  Mr.  Forrest. 
"  It  is  to  the  history  of  the  transaction  that  we 
desire  to  make  our  objection." 


462  THE   GREAT  CRONIN   MYSTERY 

"It  is  overruled,"  said  the  court;  "let  the  wit- 
ness go  ahead  and  answer." 

"  On  February  i8th,"  said  the  witness,  "  a  man 
came  to  the  office  and  inquired  about  the  rooms  on 
the  fourth  or  upper  floor  at  1 17  Clark  street." 

"  Was  that  this  year?  "  interrupted  Mr.  Ingham. 

"  Yes,  sir,  1889.  February  iQth,  in  the  latter 
part  of  the  forenoon,  he  came  to  the  office.  I  can- 
not give  his  language,  but  the  substance  of  it,  ac- 
cording to  my  best  recollection,  is,  he  inquired  the 
rent  of  rooms  on  the  upper  flat.  As  they  were 
always  rented  as  a  flat  together,  and  as  he  only 
wanted  two  or  three  of  the  front  rooms " 

"  Did  he  designate  what  flat  he  wanted?  "  asked 
Mr.  Ingham. 

"  Yes,  the  upper  floor  of  1 17  Clark  street. 

"  Which  side  of  Clark  street  does  that  floor  front 
on?  " 

"  On  the  east  side.  As  I  always  rented  the 
flat  altogether  and  he  only  wanted  two  or  three 
rooms,  I  objected  to  renting  them  to  him,  and  said 
he  must  come  in  next  day,  and  in  the  meantime  I 
would  speak  to  one  of  the  firm  about  it,  and,  if  they 
desired  to  rent  part  of  it,  we  would  do  so." 

"Next  day  did   he  come  in?" 

"Yes,   sir;    he  came  in  next  day." 

"What  time?" 

"  About  the  same  time  —  in  the  latter  part  of  the 
forenoon." 

"  That  was  the  iQth,  and  the  occasion  of  the 
second  visit?  " 

"  Yes,  sir.     At  that  time  Mr.    Marshall,   one    of 


WAR   IN   CAMP   TWENTY  463 

the  firm,  was  present,  and  I  asked  him  if  we  could 
rent  this  man  part  of  the  floor,  and  he  objected  to 
that." 

"  I  object  to  any  conversation  between  the  wit- 
ness and  his  employer,"  cried  Mr.  Forrest. 

"  I  take  it  that  there  were  others  present,"  said 
the  court;  "the  witness  may  proceed." 

"  What  did  you  say  to  him  about  renting  him  the 
whole  of  the  flat?" 

"  I  said  it  was  not  usual  to  do  so;  that  is  to  rent 
part  of  the  flat.  He  said  he  wanted  a  front  room. " 

"  Did  he  tell  you  for  what  purpose  he  wanted  a 
front  room?  " 

"  He  said  he  was  going  to  bring  a  brother  here 
from  the  East  to  have  his  eyes  treated,  and  he 
wished  to  have  him  occupy  these  rooms  because 
of  the  convenient  location." 

"  Now,  go  on  with  the  rest  of  the  conversation," 
said  Mr.  Ingham. 

"  When  I  told  him  I  could  not  rent  him  part 
of  the  floor,"  continued  the  witness,  "  he  decided 
to  take  the  whole  of  it  in  order  to  get  these  front 
rooms.  Then  I  asked  him  for  a  reference,  as  is 
customary,  and  he  said  he  could  not  give  any 
because  he  was  a  stranger  in  the  city.  I  again 
consulted  with  Mr.  Marshall,  and,  in  view  of  the 
short  time  he  wanted  them  for  —  two  or  three 
months  —  and  of  the  general  appearance  of  the 
man  himself,  etc. ,  he  thought  he  would  let  him 
take  it  without  any  reference." 

"  Did  you  make  him  a  lease?  " 

"  We  made  him  a  lease  running  to  May  ist." 


464  THE   GREAT   CRONIN   MYSTERY 

"  What  name  did  that  man  give?  " 

"  J.  B.  Simonds." 

"  What  was  the  amount  of  the  rent?  " 

"  Forty-two  dollars  a  month. " 

"  Did  he  pay  you  at  that  time?  " 

"  Yes,  sir,  he  paid  me  one  month's  rent  in  ad- 
vance." 

"  What  bills  did  he  pay  you  in?  " 

"Large  bills,  most  of  them  ten  dollar  bills." 

"How  did  he  carry  his  money?  " 

"In  a  roll." 

"  In  a  pocketbook?  " 

"  No,  sir  ;  it  was  a  roll  of  bills  in  his  pocket.  It 
was  not  inclosed  in  a  pocketbook." 

"  What  size  roll  was  it?  " 

"  A  good  sized  roll." 

"Did  you  see  him  after  that?" 

"No,  sir." 

"  Did  you  ever  get  any  other  rent  for  the  prem- 
ises after  that?  " 

"No,  sir." 

"  Do  you  know  of  your  own  knowledge  whether 
those  rooms  were  occuoied  by  any  persons  or  not 
after  that?  " 

"  Not  until  after  May  ist." 

"  What  did  you  learn,  then,  as  to  whether  they 
were  occupied  or  empty  ?  " 

"  They  were  empty,  for  they  were  rented  to 
another  party  just  previous  to  May  ist." 

"  What  had  become  of  your  old  tenant  ?  " 

"  We  could  not  find  him." 


WAR   IN   CAMP   TWENTY  465 

"  When  did  you  know  that  the  old  tenant  was 
gone  ?  " 

"  Well,  our  collector  went  up  the  re " 

"  I  ask  you,  of  your  own  knowledge,  not  what 
was  (told  you  by  anybody  else.  Were  you  ever 
up  there  yourself,  together  with  the  collector  ?  " 

"No,  sir." 

A  DESCRIPTION   OF   SIMONDS. 

"  Describe  that  man,  as  nearly  as  you  can." 

"  As  near  as  I  can  recollect,  he  was  about  thirty- 
five  years  of  age,  five  feet  seven  or  seven  and  a 
half  inches  tall,  and  had  dark  hair  and  a  long,  dark 
mustache.  I  think  he  had  dark  eyes.  He  had  a 
fair  skin  and  rosy  cheeks.  He  was  dressed  in  a 
heavy  overcoat,  and  wore  a  drab  hat." 

"  In  appearance  what  was  his  business,  appar- 
ently ?" 

"  Apparently  an  office  man,  likely." 

"  During  any  of  the  conversation  you  had  with 
this  man  Simonds,  was  anything  said  by  him  or  by 
you  about  renting  the  rooms  on  the  same  floor  in 
that  building  ?  " 

"  Yes,  sir ;  I  offered  him  two  vacant  rooms  on 
the  floor  below —  the  third  floor." 

"  In  what  portion  of  that  floor  were  they  ?  " 

"  In  the  front." 

"  What  did  he  say  about  these  rooms?  " 

"  He  said  he  would  rather  have  those  on  the 
upper  floor,  because  there  were  no  other  tenants  on 
the  floor  and  it  would  be  more  quiet  and  secluded." 

Cronin  Mystery  30 


466  THE   GREAT   CRONIN   MYSTERY 

"  Were  there  other  tenants  on  the  floor  below  the 
one  that  you  rented  him?  " 

"  Yes,  sir." 

"  Which  one  was  it  you  rented  to  him?  " 

"  The  fourth  or  top  floor. " 

"  Where  is  that  situated  with  reference  to  the 
building  known  as  the  Chicago  Opera  House 
Block?  " 

"  Directly  opposite  part  of  it. " 

"  Opposite  which  portion  of  the  opera  house, 
south,  center  or  north?  " 

"  The  south  portion." 

"  Do  you  know  on  what  floor  of  the  Opera  House 
Block  this  upper  floor  of  your  building  was  paral- 
lel with?  " 

"  Well,  it  is  a  little  higher  than  the  fourth  floor, 
and  not  quite  as  high  as  the  fifth.  It  was  between 
the  fourth  and  fifth  floors." 

"  Were  these  rooms  rented  or  occupied  immedi- 
ately before  you  rented  them  to  Simonds?  " 

"  No,  sir,  not  for  about  four  months  before." 

"  Any  one  of  them  during  that  time?  " 

"No,  sir." 

"  That  is  all  for  the  present,"  said  Mr.  Ingham. 

"That  is  all,"  said  Mr.  Forrest  promptly,  and 
the  witness  left  the  witness  stand.  Mr.  Forrest 
moved  to  exclude  the  entire  testimony,  and  was 
overruled  by  the  court,  and  Aaron  Goldman  was 
called  by  State's  Attorney  Longenecker,  and  took 
his  place  upon  the  witness  stand.  Mr.  Goldman 
stated  that  he  is  twenty-one  years  of  age,  and  is 
employed  by  the  firm  of  Knight  &  Marshall  as  col- 


WAR    IN   CAMP   TWENTY  467 

lector  in  their  real  estate  office.  Witness  knows 
the  premises  of  117  Clark  street,  which  are  in  the 
control  and  custody  of  the  firm  by  which  he  is  em- 
ployed. 

"  Last  March,  did  you  go  to  these  premises  for 
any  purpose  ?  "  asked  Judge  Longenecker. 

"  I  went  there  to  collect  the  rent.  I  think  the 
first  time  I  went  there  to  collect  the  rent  was  on 
the  i Qth.  I  did  not  take  any  particular  notice  of 
the  place  on  the  iQth.  I  did  not  find  any  one  in." 

"  Did  you  go  there  on  the  2Oth  ?  " 

"  Yes,  sir. " 

"  Did  you  find  any  one  there  at  that  time  ?  " 

"  No,  sir.  When  I  went  on  the  2Oth  I  noticed 
that  the  party  still  occupied  the  front  room  in  the 
north  part  of  the  building." 

"  How  do  you  know  that  the  room  was  occu- 
pied ?  " 

"  Well,  I  looked  in  through  a  hole  in  the  door ; 
I  think  it  was  the  letter  hole.  I  saw  furniture  there 
and  a  carpet. " 

"  Did  you  go  back  next  day?  " 

"  Next  day?     Yes,  sir." 

"That  was  the  2ist?" 

"  Yes,  sir.  I  went  there  some  time  in  the  morn- 
ing. The  particular  time  I  do  not  know." 

"  What  did  you  see  there  then  ?  " 

"  There  was  nothing  there." 

"  Were  the  rooms  vacant?" 

"Yes,  sir." 

"  How  many  times  in  all  did  you  go  there  during 
that  month?  " 


468  THE   GREAT   CRONIN   MYSTERY       . 

"  I  think,  in  all,  about  seven  or  eight  times." 

"  Why  ?  " 

"  We  had  some  trouble  with  the  water  on  the  top 
floor." 

"  Did  you  find  any  one  in  occupation  of  the 
premises  at  any  time  ?  " 

*'  I  never  saw  any  persons  there  at  any  time." 

W\.nd  you  went  there  how  many  times  ?  " 

"  Four  or  five  times." 

"  So  far  as  you  know,  was  any  warning  given  to 
the  firm  by  which  you  are  employed,  that  these 
premises  were  to  be  vacated  ?  " 

"No,  sir." 

This  concluded  the  direct  examination  of  the 
witness.  The  defense  did  not  cross-examine,  but 
Mr.  Forrest  moved  to  exclude  the  entire  testimony. 
The  motion  was  overruled,  and  James  N.  Marshall, 
of  the  firm  of  Knight  &  Marshall,  was  called  by  the 
State.  Mr.  Marshall  testified*  to  having  seen 
Simonds  for  a  moment,  when  the  latter  was  renting 
the  flat  at  117  Clark  street,  but  did  not  look  at 
him  closely,  and  was  unable  to  describe  him.  He 
said  he  never  saw  Simonds  after  that,  and  the 
premises  were  vacated  without  any  notice  being 
given  to  the  firm. 

At  this  point  the  court  adjourned  until  ten 
o'clock  next  morning,  November  ist. 


FOR   THE   DEFENSE  469 

CHAPTER  XXXI. 

DESPERATE  FIGHTING  OF  DEFENSE  —  STUBBORN 
RESISTANCE  OF  THE  PROSECUTORS  —  A  FAIR 
FIELD  AND  No  FAVORS  —  GALLANT  BATTLE 

OF  COUNSEL  ON  BOTH  SIDES — THE  "  CREAM  " 

• 
OF  ALL  THAT  WAS   GIVEN  TO  JUDGE  *RND 

JURY  —  No  FAVORS  ASKED  OR  GIVEN  —  LONG 
CHAPTERS  Now,  FULL  OF  FACTS  -*-  TERRIBLE 
TRUTHS  AND  STARTLING  SENSATIONS  —  FROM 
THE  EIGHTH  TO  THE  THIRTEENTH  DAY  OF  THE 
TRIAL. 

PRECEDING  its  account  of  the  testimony  given  on 
the  eighth  day  of  the  trial,  the  Herald  thus  graph- 
ically describes  the  struggle  of  the  contending 
forces  for  the  life  or  death  of  the  defendants: 

"  The  great  Cronin  case  can  now  be  compared 
with  the  siege  and  defense  of  a  stronghold.  When 
the  trial  began  the  generals  of  the  prisoners  and 
the  prisoners  themselves  stood  behind  four  redoubts. 
These  were  the  question  as  to  the  identity  of  the  dead 
body  found  in  the  Evanston  road  catch-basin,  the 
possibility  of  mutilation  in  removing  the  corpse 
from  the  sewer,  the  assumption  that  the  blood  in 
the  Carlson  cottage  did  not  flow  from  Dr.  Cronin's 
wounds,  and  the  sweeping  and  more  impregnable 
assertion  that  there  was  no  conspiracy  in  the  camps 
of  the  Clan-na-Gael  to  take  the  life  of  the  bold 
enemy  of  the  triangle.  The  siege  has  been  in 
progress  for  over  a  week.  Step  by  step  the 


4/0      THE  GREAT  CRONIN  MYSTERY 

beleaguered  men  have  been  driven  back  until  they 
now  find  themselves  defending  the  third  redoubt, 
which  is  rapidly  crumbling  before  the  furious  fire 
of  the  State's  guns.  The  first  fortification  fell  in 
one  charge.  The  second  redoubt  was  blown  out 
of  sight  with  a  single  volley.  The  third  line  of 
defense  is  made  of  stronger  material,  and  it  took  a 
fierce  cannonading  from  th'e  batteries  of  the  prose- 
cution to  make  a  breach  in  the  masonry.  A  ter- 
rible fire  was  kept  up  on  the  redoubt  all  day, 
and,  when  night  came,  the  great  bulwark  was  shat- 
tered in  many  places.  Although  clearly  dismayed 
at  the  seemingly  resistless  advance  of  the  prosecu- 
tion, the  generals  for  the  prisoners  were  still  battling 
fiercely  for  this  vital  fortification.  -If  it  falls,  it  will 
carry  with  it  the  lives  of  Coughlin,  Burke  and 
O'Sullivan,  and  possibly  Kunze.  Beggs  is  already 
intrenched  behind  the  conspiracy  redoubt,  which, 
while  clipped  here  and  there  by  small  shot,  still 
defies  the  work  of  the  heaviest  ordnance  possessed 
by  the  State,  and  the  strategy  of  the  skilled 
besiegers. 

The  testimony  taken  was  of  a  most  startling  and 
dramatic  nature.  It  began  with  the  mysterious 
transactions  of  the  strange  J.  B.  Simonds  in  rent- 
ing and  furnishing  the  flat  at  117  Clark  street, 
opposite  the  Chicago  Opera  House  building.  A 
piece  of  cheap  ingrain  carpet  was  identified  by 
Martin  McHale  as  the  exact  pattern  and  texture  of 
the  carpet  he  laid  in  the  Clark  street  flat.  Fred 
N.  Allen,  who  delivered  the  furniture  at  the  place, 
told  how  he  carried  the  big  trunk  lying  before  him, 


JOHN  F.  BEGGS. 


THE   DEFENDANTS. 


JOHN  KUNZE. 


FOR   THE   DEFENSE  47 1 

and  each  piece  of  the  furniture  bought  by  Simonds, 
and  afterward  discovered  in  the  Carlson  cottage, 
to  the  rooms  looking  upon  Clark  street.  Then  the 
testimony,  under  the  skillful  guidance  of  Luther 
Laflin  Mills,  turned  upon  the  slaughter  house.  It 
chained  Burke  to  the  den  where  Dr.  Cronin  was 
lured,  and  showed  that  O'Sullivan  was  deeply  inter- 
ested in  the  renting  of  the  cottage,  and  in  the  myste- 
rious tenants  as  well.  Old  man  Carlson,  his  wife, 
and  his  son  Charles  and  his  wife  were  alone  in  the 
little  house  back  of  the  building,  now  known  as  the 
Carlson  cottage,  on  March  2Othof  this  year,  when  a 
young  man,  wearing  a  short,  brown  mustache,  a 
black  Derby  hat  and  a  heavy,  dark  overcoat,  rapped 
at  the  door,  and  asked  to  be  shown  the  vacant 
house.  Old  man  Carlson  accompanied  the  stranger 
to  the  cottage.  The  fellow,  after  a  cursory  exami- 
nation of  the  rooms,  agreed  to  take  the  house  at  a 
rental  of  $12  a  month.  The  money  was  paid,  the 
keys  turned  over  to  the  stranger,  and  then  both 
returned  to  the  homestead  of  the  old  man.  A 
receipt  was  made  and  given  to  the  new  tenant,  who 
said  his  name  was  Frank  Williams,  that  he  worked 
down  town,  and  that  his  sister  and  three  brothers 
were  coming  to  live  with  him. 

When  Williams  left  the  house  he  walked  over  to 
O'Sullivan's  buggy  shed,  a  few  feet  away,  and 
talked  to  the  iceman.  Old  man  Carlson  followed 
his  new  tenant  out  of  the  house,  and  heard  him 
say,  as  he  greeted  O'Sullivan:  "  Well,  I  have  rented 
the  cottage."  The  two  men  were  still  together 
when  the  old  man  returned  to  his  house.  About  the 


472  THE   GREAT    CRONIN    MYSTERY 

middle  of  April  Mr.  Carlson,  seeing  no  evidence  of 
life  in  the  cottage  which  he  had  rented,  asked 
O'Sullivan  if  he  knew  anything  about  the  tenants. 
The  iceman  replied  that  he  knew  one  of  them,  and 
that  he  was  all  right.  He  also  gave  the  old  man  to 
understand  that  he  would  be  responsible  for  the 
next  month's  rent  in  case  Williams  did  not  appear. 
The  next  time  Carlson  saw  Williams  was  on  May 
4th,  the  day  of  the  murder.  The  young  man  was 
standing  on  the  front  steps  of  the  house,  but  after- 
ward went  indoors.  This  was  at  five  o'clock.  Two 
hours  later  the  old  man  heard  two  men  talking 
loudly  in  the  front  room  of  the  cottage.  He  could 
not  hear  what  they  said,  and  the  blinds  were  closed 
so  tightly  that  he  could  not  see  the  men.  At  eight 
o'clock  all  the  members  of  the  Carlson  household 
were  in  bed.  When  morning  came  the  old  man, 
in  prowling  about  his  lot,  saw  strange  stains  on  the 
front  doorsteps,  which  he  thought  were  made  by 
the  breaking  of  a  jar  of  preserves.  In  the  soft  mud 
near  the  sidewalk  in  front  of  the  house  were  the 
footprints  of  men  who  had  worn  heavy  shoes,  and 
near  the  curbing  were  fresh  wagon  tracks,  which 
seemed  to  lead  to  the  southward.  The  old  man 
paid  no  attention  at  the  time  to  these  new 
marks  and  stains,  and  was  still  wondering 
about  his  mysterious  tenants  when  he  received 
a  letter  from  Hammond,  Ind.,  about  May  iQth, 
from  Williams,  who  signed  himself  as  "  S.  B.  W." 
In  this  letter  Williams  wrote  that  he  had  lost  the 
keys  of  the  house;  that  he  had  painted  the  floors 
to  save  his  sister  the  trouble  of  scrubbing  them, 


FOR   THE   DEFENSE  4/3 

and  that,  if  any  damage  had  been  done,  he  would 
see  it  would  be  paid  in  full.  The  letter  aroused 
Carlson's  suspicions,  and  the  next  day  he  began  an 
investigation,  which  soon  convinced  him  that  all 
was  not  right.  The  doors  were  locked.  One 
shutter  had  been  cut  from  one  of  the  blinds  in 
front  of  the  house,  and  through  this  aperture  the 
old  man  passed  his  hand  in  and  sprung  the  catch. 
Then  he  raised  the  window  and  crawled  into  the 
room.  He  was  followed  by  his  son-in-law  and 
son.  Somebody  had  daubed  the  floor  of  the  front 
room  with  yellow  paint.  Only  two  clean  spots 
remained.  One  was  near  the  window.  The  other 
was  in  the  center  of  the  room.  In  the  hallway 
were  ten  or  twelve  foot-prints  upon  the  floor.  A 
rocking-chair  with  the  right  arm  broken,  a  chamber 
set  of  three  pieces,  a  door  rug,  a  bed,  without 
sheets  or  pillow  cases,  and  a  wash-bowl  and  pitcher 
were  in  the  house.  The  carpet  was  gone.  So  was 
the  big  yellow  trunk,  which  the  old  man  had  seen 
when  he  peeped  through  the  blinds  several  weeks 
before. 

The  day  Carlson  got  the  letter  from  Hammond, 
he  talked  to  O'Sullivan,  who  came  across  the 
prairie  to  meet  him.  The  iceman  asked  if  the  new 
tenants  had  moved  into  the  cottage.  Carlson  de- 
clared that  they  had  not,  and  then  read  the  letter 
aloud.  O'Sullivan  then  replied  that  Carlson  had 
got  to  rent  the  cottage,  and  remarked  that  the  old 
man  was  having  bad  luck  with  the  building.  This 
is,  substantially,  the  testimony  of  Carlson  and  his 
daughter-in-law,  Annie  Carlson.  When  the  latter 


474  THE   GREAT   CRONIN   MYSTERY 

had  finished  her  story,  Mr.  Mills,  turning  his  face 
toward  the  line  of  prisoners,  asked  the  witness  if 
she  could  recognize,  in  the  great  audience  before 
her,  the  face  of  Frank  Williams.  The  silence  was 
oppressive  as  the  little  woman's  eyes  rested  upon 
the  prisoners. 

"  Do  you  see  the  man?  "  Mr.  Mills  remarked, 
with  great  emphasis. 

"  Yes,  sir,"  replied  the  witness. 

"Where  is  he?" 

Mrs.  Carlson  leveled  the  index  finger  of  her 
gloved  hand  at  Burke.  The  prisoner  chewed  vi- 
ciously at  his  tobacco,  and  rolled  his  eyes  wildly,  as 
his  red  face  wrinkled  in  a  broad  smile.  Coughlin, 
Beggs  and  O'Sullivan  did  not  look  at  their  com- 
rades. Little  Kunze,  with  his  head  buried  in  a  pil- 
low, opened  one  eye  as  the  gloved  finger  pointed 
within  one  foot  of  the  chair  where  he  sat. 

The  cross-examination  on  the  point  of  identifica- 
tion was  searching.  Lawyer  Donahoe  stood  before 
Burke  as  Mr.  Forrest  arose  and  asked  the  witness 
to  describe  the  face  of  Frank  Williams.  The 
woman's  description  made  it  clear  that  she  had 
made  no  mistake  in  the  identification.  She  knew 
the  man  by  his  restless  eyes,  by  his  mouth,  and  by 
the  contour  of  his  face.  Burke  placed  his  hand 
over  his  chin  (the  most  striking  feature  of  his  face) 
as  the  little  woman  began  her  description,  but  soon 
dropped  his  arm  and  grinned  broadly  at  the  audi- 
ence as  the  terrible  ordeal  continued. 

Old  man  Carlson's  identification  of  Burke  was 
even  more  dramatic.  When  asked  to  pick  out 


FOR    THE   DEFENSE  475 

Frank  Williams  from  the  hundreds  of  faces  turned 
upon  him,  he  glanced  nervously  about  him  and 
remained  silent.  The  request  was  repeated,  and 
for  the  second  time  Carlson  scanned  the  audience 
without  discovering  the  face.  During  this  terrible 
silence  which  prevailed,  Burke,  with  his  face  rigid 
with  determination,  sat  with  his  wild-looking  eyes 
fastened  upon  the  old  man.  The  witness  was 
asked  to  leave  his  chair  and  walk  among  the 
people  below  him.  Seizing  his  soft  black  hat  with 
his  hand,  he  walked  slowly  past  the  jurors  and  law- 
yers. His  little  eyes  were  now  fastened  on  the 
prisoners.  He  began  with  Beggs.  Then  his  gaze 
passed  from  Coughlin  to  O'Sullivan,  and  thence  to 
Burke.  The  two  men  were  not  five  feet  apart. 
With  a  grunt  of  satisfaction,  Carlson  shook  his  old 
hat  at  the  crimson-faced  and  laughing  prisoner. 

"  Is  he  the  Frank  Williams  you  saw?"  asked  Mr. 
Mills,  as  the  witness  returned  to  his  chair. 

"  Yes,  sir,"  was  the  sharp  reply. 

Mr.  Forrest  began  the  cross-examination  of  the 
witness  by  testing  his  eyesight.  It  took  only  two 
minutes  for  the  old  man  to  demonstrate  that  he 
can  tell  the  color  of  a  man's  eyes  at  a  distance  of 
fifteen  feet. 

It  was  apparent  the  instant  the  cross-examina- 
tion began  that  the  witness  was  angry.  Six  or 
seven  weeks  ago  Mr.  Forrest,  accompanied  by  a 
retinue  of  thugs,  took  forcible  possession  of  the 
Carlson  cottage,  and  tore  from  the  floor  and  walls 
some  of  the  bloodstains  which  it  was  claimed  were 
made  during  the  death-struggle  between  Dr.  Cro- 


4/6  THE    GREAT   CRONIN    MYSTERY 

nin  and  his  murderers.  While  at  their  work,  old 
man  Carlson  leveled  a  revolver  at  Forrest,  and 
would  have  shot  the  trespasser  had  not  his  com- 
panion disarmed  the  old  man.  The  witness  scowled 
at  the  cross-examiner,  and  frequently  refused  to 
answer  questions  until  the  court  admonished  him  of 
his  duty.  The  old  man  evidently  thought  Mr. 
Forrest  was  disputing  his  veracity  and  taking 
unfair  advantage  of  him  before  a  great  audience. 
Some  of  the  retorts  of  the  gruff  old  Swede  pro- 
voked outbursts  of  laughter  from  the  assemblage. 
The  cross-examination  failed  to  shake  the  direct 
testimony  in  any  particular. 

John  C.  Garrity,  for  whom  an  attachment  was 
issued  the  previous  day,  took  the  witness  stand,  and 
was  examined  by  State's  Attorney  Longenecker. 
He  stated  that  he  had  known  Daniel  Coughlin  about 
four  years,  and  was  well  acquainted  with  him. 

"  Did  you  have  a  conversation  with  him  about 
two  years  ago?  "  queried  the  State's  Attorney. 

"Yes,  sir." 

"Where?" 

"  On  the  corner  of  Market  and  Ontario  streets." 

"  What  was  the  conversation?" 

"  Coughlin  asked  me  one  afternoon,  about  two 
o'clock,  if  I  thought  Sampson  would  do  a  job  for 
him — a  piece  of  work.  I  asked  him  what  it  was, 
and  he  said  he  wanted  to  have  a  certain  fellow 
slugged.  I  asked  him  who  it  was,  but  he  didn't 
say.  I  said,  '  What  do  you  want  done  to  him?' 
He  said,  '  Get  a  club  and  break  his  nose,  or  knock 
his  teeth  out  or  disfigure  him  for  life,  or  something.' 


FOR   THE   DEFENSE  477 

I  said,  '  You  had  better  find  Sampson  yourself  and 
see  if  he  will  do  it.'  In  the  meantime  I  saw  Samp- 
son, and  told  him  Coughlin  wanted  to  s«e  him." 

Robert  T.  Stanton,  a  printer  in  Lake  View, 
who  printed  the  cards  for  the  defendant  O'Sullivan, 
stated  that  he  printed  some  business  cards  for 
O'Sullivan  on  the  2d  day  of  May.  Mr.  Mills 
showed  the  witness  a  card,  which  he  identified  as 
one  of  those  which  he  printed  for  O'Sullivan  at 
that  date.  On  cross-examination  by  Mr.  Donahoe 
the  witness  said  he  was  not  positive  when  O'Sulli- 
van gave  the  order,  but  thought  it  was  about  the 
middle  of  April.  The  cards  were  delivered  at 
O'Sullivan 's  place  on  Lincoln  avenue  by  a  boy. 
Witness  did  not  personally  deliver  them.  Mr. 
Donahoe  moved  to  strike  out  the  evidence  as  to 
the  delivery  of  the  cards  on  the  ground  that  the 
witness  had  not  personally  delivered  them,  but  the 
court  overruled  the  motion,  and  an  exception  was 
taken  on  behalf  of  O'Sullivan. 

"  We  do  not  care  for  it,"  said  Judge  Longenecker, 
"  except  for  the  delivery  on  the  2d  of  May." 

"  The  jury  will  consider,"  said  the  court,  "that 
nothing  was  done  by  Mr.  Stanton  except  that  he 
delivered  the  cards  to  a  boy  to  be  delivered  to 
O'Sullivan  on  the  2d  day  of  May.  That  is  as 
much  as  can  be  inferred  from  the  evidence." 

Ex-Police  Captain  Villiers,  who  in  the  earlier 
stages  of  the  trial  testified  to  the  finding  and  iden- 
tification of  Dr.  Cronin's  body,  was  recalled,  and, 
after  having  been  shown  a  map  of  Lake  View,  he 
traced  on  it  what  he  believed  to  be  the  route  trav- 


478 


THE  GREAT  CRONIN  MYSTERY 


eled  by  the  wagon  containing  the  trunk  and  the 
murderers. 

Mr.  Villiers  said  he  was  captain  of  police  on  the 
4th  and  5th  of  May  last,  and  that  the  trunk  was 
brought  to  the  Central  Police  Station  about  12:30 
o'clock,  Sunday,  May  5th,  and  put  in  his  private 


CAPTAIN  VILLIERS  ON  THE    STAND. 

office.  There  was  some  cotton  batting  and  red  tis- 
sue paper  in  the  trunk.  The  trunk  was  brought  to 
the  station  by  Captain  Wing  and  Officer  Phillips. 
Mr.  Villiers  turned  the  trunk  over  to  Captain  Wing 
when  he  was  succeeded  by  that  officer  on  May  8th, 
also  turned  over  to  Wing  lock  of  hair  in  same  con- 
dition as  he  had  received  it  from  Officer  Phillips. 
Following  Captain  Villiers,  Herman  Kiel,  Carl 


FOR   THE   DEFENSE  479 

Knop,  and  Herman  Pauss  described  how  the  trunk 
was  found  and  what  it  contained  when  they  found 
it. 

Officer  Joel  Phillips,  who  was  formerly  a  police 
officer  in  the  employ  of  the  city  of  Lake  View,  and 
now  attached  to  the  police  force  of  Chicago, 
testified  that  between  nine  and  ten  o'clock  of  Sun- 
day, May  5th,  he  was  ordered  by  Captain  Wing  to 
go  with  the  wagon  and  get  a  trunk  that  was  found. 
George  Malia  and  Captain  Wing  went  with  him. 
The  trunk  was  lying  in  the  ditch  on  the  side 
of  the  road,  a  little  north  of  Sulzer  street,  on  the 
west  side  of  the  road  —  they  called  it  Evanston 
avenue.  There  was  some  cotton  batting,  and  a 
little  blue  paper  (Villiers  testified  to  its  being  red 
paper)  that  had  been  on  the  cotton  batting,  and 
some  hair  sticking  to  it.  Witness  took  part  of  the 
hair,  and  Malia  took  part  of  it.  Witness  turned 
his  part  over  to  Captain  Villiers.  Took  the  trunk 
to  the  station.  Identified  the  trunk  in  court  as 
being  the  one. 


480  THE   GREAT   CRONIN   MYSTERY 

CHAPTER  XXXII. 

NEW  BLOODY  EVIDENCE — DR.  CRONIN'S  CLOTHES, 
SURGICAL  INSTRUMENTS,  POCKET  CASE,   PRE- 
SCRIPTION BOOK,  ETC.,  FOUND    IN  A  CATCH- 
BASIN —  FULL  PARTICULARS  OF  THE   FIND  — 
PET  THEORY  OF  THE  PROSECUTION   UPSET  — 
BUT,   FAVORED    BY   PROVIDENCE    AND    FOR- 
TUNE, THEIR    CASE  Is    AS  GOOD    AS  WON  — 
WHAT  DID  THE  TIN  Box  CONTAIN? 
"FORTUNE  does   favor   us,"     exclaimed  State's 
Attorney  Longenecker,   on  the    afternoon   of  the 
fourteenth  day  of  the  taking  of  testimony   in  the 
trial  of  the  alleged  conspirators  for  the  murder  of 
Dr.  Cronin.     "  It  doesn't  seem  possible  that  a  case 
could  develop  just  like  this  one  has.     The  succes- 
sion of  all  these  discoveries  is  wonderful.     We  have 
only  one  long  chain  of  evidence  made  up  link  by 
link,  and  it  is  getting  stronger  every  day." 

Ah!  Mr.  State's  Attorney,  and  is  there  not  a 
more  potent  factor  than  fortune  that  has  favored 
the  prosecution  from  its  very  inception  down  to  the 
day  of  this  clinching  disclosure? 

When  the  door  of  the  Carlson  cottage  had  closed 
behind  the  tall  man  and  Dr.  Cronin  on  that  fateful 
night  of  May  4th,  Mrs.  Hoertel,  the  poor  scrub- 
woman, who  was  passing  by  the  cottage  at  the 
time,  heard  Dr.  Cronin  cry  out,  "  Oh,  God!  "  and 
then  she  heard  a  noise  which  sounded  like  a  blow. 
Then  came  the  stifled  cry:  "  Oh,  Jesus  !"  and  all 
was  still. 


THE   CLOTHES   FOUND  481 

From  that  very  hour  when  Dr.  Cronin  cried  out 
to  his  God,  as  the  cowardly  concealed  assassins 
wielded  their  merciless  murderous  weapons  and 
felled  him  to  the  floor,  and  flayed  him  to  death, 
that  Providence,  without  whose  notice  not  even  a 
sparrow  falls  to  the  earth,  has  followed  the  assas- 
sins by  day  and  by  night,  startling  the  detectives 
with  clues  they  had  never  suspected,  surprising  the 
police  with  undreamed-of  discoveries,  and  leading 
the  learned  lawyers  for  the  prosecution  to  wonder 
how  it  could  be  possible  that  "  a  case  could  de- 
velop just  like  this  one  has,"  and  to  ascribe  the 
whole  series  of  wonderful  developments  to  the 
favor  of  fortune. 

Fortune,  indeed!  Was  it  fortune  that  induced 
Patrick  Dinan,  the  livery  stable  keeper  at  260 
North  Clark  street,  to  refuse  to  let  Dan  Coughlin's 
"  friend "  have  any  other  horse  than  the  white 
one  —  one  to  be  easily  identified  —  when  he  called 
for  a  rig  on  the  night  of  May  4th  for  the  purpose  of 
hauling  Dr.  Cronin  to  the  death  trap  set  for  him  at 
the  Carlson  Cottage  ?  Was  it  fortune  that  raised 
up  the  ghost  of  Dr.  Cronin  and  caused  it  to  pass 
before  the  eyes  of  Mrs.  Dinan  in  a  dream,  stretch- 
ing out  its  hands  to  her  as  if  imploring  her  for  aid 
in  avenging  his  foul  murder,  in  such  vivid  manner 
that  it  seemed  to  her  that  she  actually  saw  Dr. 
Cronin  being  driven  away  to  his  death  in  the  rig 
which  her  husband  had  hired  to  the  "  friend  "  of 
Coughlin,  so  that  she  gave  her  husband  no  rest 
until  she  persuaded  him  to  go  straightway  to  the  East 
Chicago  Avenue  Station  and  inform  Captain 
Cronin  Mystery  jf 


482 


THE  GREAT  CRONIN  MYSTERY 


Schaack  concerning  the  hiring  of  the  white  horse 
to  the  stranger  on  the  night  of  the  murder  ?  Was 
it  fortune  that  sent  the  milkman,  David  Mertes,  to 
the  grocer's  for  a  can  of  oil  on  the  night  of 
May  4th,  just  in  the  nick  of  time  to  bring  him 
in  front  of  the  Carlson  cottage  at  the  very 
moment  the  big,  broad-shouldered  man,  wearing  a 


MRS.  DIN  AN, 

long  overcoat,  and  who,  it  has  since  been  proven, 
was  Dan  Coughlin,  alighted  from  a  top  buggy, 
drawn  by  a  small  bay  horse,  and  ran  up  the  front 
steps  of  the  cottage?  Was  it  fortune  that  caused 
the  murderers  to  drop  the  key  of  the  bloody  trunk 
on  the  floor  of  the  Carlson  Cottage,  and  thus  give 
positive  proof  of  a  connection  between  the  bloody 
trunk  and  the  blood-stained  walls  of  the  Carlson 
cottage?  Was  it  fortune  that  sent  the  poor,  for- 


THE  CLOTHES  FOUND  483 

saken  scrub  woman,  Mrs.  Hoertel,  out  into  the 
street  that  Saturday  evening  in  search  of  her 
recreant  husband,  and  drove  her  back  again  dis- 
heartened from  Ertel's  saloon,  where  she  had  hoped 
to  but  had  failed  to  find  him,  just  at  the  proper 
moment  for  her  to  witness  the  white  horse  and 
buggy  drive  up  to  the  Carlson  cottage,  to  see  Dr. 
Cronin  alight  therefrom  and  take  from  the  buggy 
a  valise  and  small  case  and  enter  the  cottage,  from 
whence  she  immediately  afterward  heard  his  agon- 
ized cries  of  "  Oh,  God!  "  "  Oh,  Jesus!  "  and  the 
sounds  of  blows  and  a  scuffle?  Was  it  fortune 
that  kept  the  police  officers  of  Lake  View  awake 
after  two  o'clock  in  the  morning  of  May  5th,  so 
that  they  stood  in  the  way  of  the  murderers  when 
they  were  about  to  dump  the  trunk  containing  the 
murdered  body  of  Dr.  Cronin  on  the  beach  at 
Edgewater,  preparatory  to  sinking  it  out  of  sight 
forever  in  the  depths  of  Lake  Michigan,  and  com- 
pelled them  to  change  their  plan  and  to  hurriedly 
dump  it  into  the  catch-basin,  where  it  was  after- 
ward discovered?  Was  it  fortune  that  guided  the 
murderers  to  that  particular  catch-basin  which  soon 
afterward  was  to  be  ordered  by  the  Lake  View 
Department  of  Public  Works  to  be  cleared  of 
obstructions,  and  where  it  was  accidentally  dis- 
covered by  the  gang  of  ditch-cleaners  who 
had  been  sent  there  to  remove  the  obstructions? 
And  last,  but  not  least,  was  it  simply  blind  fortune 
—  sheer  "nigger  luck"  —  that  after  the  entire 
Chicago  police  force  and  a  thousand  detectives  had 
spent  five  months  of  fruitless  searching  after  the 


484  THE  GREAT   CRONIN   MYSTERY 

clothes  that  had  been  stripped  from  the  body  at  the 
time  of  the  murder,  a  gang  of  workmen,  while 
flushing  the  sewers  of  Evanston  avenue,  accidentally 
discovered,  not  only  Dr.  Cronin's  clothes,  but  also 
his  surgical  instruments,  his  call  books,  his  box  of 
splints,  the  sachel  that  Revell  &  Co.'s  salesman 
had  sold  to  J.  B.  Simons,  the  small  instrument  case 
which  Mrs.  Hoertel  had  seen  Dr.  Cronin  carry  with 
him  into  the  Carlson  cottage  on  the  night  of  the 
murder,  and  all  just  in  time,  too,  to  help  the  State's 
Attorney  to  let  go  of  the  prosecution's  pet  theory 
that  the  clothes  had  been  soldered  up  in  a  tin  box 
and  shipped  to  England ;  and,  just  in  time,  too,  to 
end  any  possible  doubt  in  the  mind  of  a  juror  as  to 
the  identity  of  the  body  found  in  the  catch-basin 
some  months  before? 

If  all  these  things  be  nothing  more  than  fortuitous 
happenings  —  accidental  discoveries,  it  were  diffi- 
cult to  conceive  where  there  could  possibly  be  any 
case  that  might  be  regarded  as  a  providential 
direction  and  determination  of  events.  Read  the 
story  of  this  last  ghastly  discovery,  and  determine 
for  yourself  whether  or  not  it  was  the  result  of  mere 
accident  —  of  fortune  favoring  the  prosecution. 

After  a  lapse  of  over  six  months  the  attorneys 
who  are  prosecuting  Dan  Coughlin  and  his  com- 
panions are  in  possession  of  the  last  thread  of  evi- 
dence needed  to  establish  beyond  the  peradventure 
of  a  doubt  that  Dr.  Cronin  was  assassinated  in  the 
Carlson  cottage,  and  that  it  was  his  mangled  body 
that  was  taken  from  the  catch-basin  at  the  corner 
of  Evanston  avenue  and  Fifty-ninth  street,  Lake 


THE   CLOTHES   FOUND  485 

View.  Shortly  after  two  o  clock  on  the  afternoon 
of  November  8th,  the  murdered  man's  clothes,  his 
surgical  instruments,  his  address,  guide  and  pre- 
.scription  books,  a  package  of  his  business  cards  — 
almost  everything,  in  fact,  that  he  carried  from  home 
when  he  was  lured  to  the  Carlson  cottage  —  were 
found  in  the  sewer  just  underneath  the  manhole  at 
the  corner  of  Evanston  and  Buena  avenues.  The 
place  is  only  a  mile  and  a  quarter  southeast  of  the 
catch-basin  where  the  body  was  found  last  May, 
and  less  than  a  quarter  of  a  mile  from  the  ditch 
where  the  trunk,  with  its  rolls  of  blood-stained  cot- 
ton, was  picked  up  by  three  German  laborers  the 
Sunday  morning  after  the  murder. 

This  startling  discovery,  as  in  the  case  of  the 
body,  was  made  by  employes  of  the  sewer  depart- 
ment, who  had  been  ordered  to  that  particular  catch- 
basin  early  in  the  afternoon  to  remove  obstructions 
from  the  sewer.  Michael  Gilbert,  of  152  Sedgwick 
street,  was  foreman  of  the  cleaning  gang,  Mike 
Reese  was  one  of  his  assistants,  and  W.  W.  McMil- 
lan had  charge  of  the  flushing  gang  that  was  brought 
along  to  expedite  operations.  The  three  men 
raised  the  cover  of  the  catch-basin,  and  Reese  was 
lowered  into  it.  He  had  scarcely  reached  the 
bottom  when  he  shouted  back  to  Gilbert  and  Mc- 
Millan that  he  had  found  a  box. 

"  What's  in  it?"  one  of  them  asked. 

"  Something  that  sounds  like  iron  or  tin,"  was 
the  reply  from  Reese.  A  moment  later  the  box  was 
passed  to  his  curious  companions,  who  were  peering 
into  the  filthy  depths,  and  they  opened  it  as  eagerly 


486  THE  GREAT   CRONIN   MYSTERY 

as  if  it  contained  Captain  Kidd's  lost  treasure.  It 
was  an  oblong  box  about  a  foot  in  length,  seven  or 
eight  inches  deep,  and  nearly  as  broad.  In  spots 
there  were  evidences  that  it  had  once  been  highly 
varnished  and  polished.  A  brass  handle  in  the 
center  of  the  case  indicated  that  it  had  been  carried 
by  some  one  who  carried  it  as  a  sachel  is  carried. 
To  force  open  the  case  was  the  work  of  but  a 
moment  for  Gilbert  and  McMillan,  who,  after  a  sin- 
gle glance  at  the  filth-covered  contents,  exclaimed 
in  one  breath:  "  This  is  Dr.  Cronin's  box!  "  The 
"  tin  or  iron,"  of  which  Reese  had  spoken,  was  an 
assortment  of  extension  splints  with  which  the  doc- 
tor provided  himself  in  anticipation  of  having  to 
treat  a  fractured  leg  when  he  should  reach  Pat 
O'Sullivan's  house  in  Lake  View. 

Reese  soon  began  calling  to  McMillan  and  Gil- 
bert again,  and  this  time  he  exclaimed  that  he  had 
found  a  sachel  and  a  bundle  of  clothes.  A  moment 
later  he  passed  up  the  broken  frame  of  a  second 
sachel,  whose  coverings  had  been  entirely  con- 
sumed by  the  foul  waters  of  the  sewer.  The  bundle 
of  clothes  was  reeking  with  slimy,  black  refuse,  and 
the  three  men,  rather  than  examine  it,  concluded  to 
turn  it  over  to  the  police.  One  of  them  sent  in  a 
call  to  the  old  Lake  View  Station,  and  a  quarter  of 
an  hour  later  the  patrol  wagon  —  the  same  one 
that  drove  Dr.  Cronin's  naked  body  to  the 
morgue  —  was  rolling  up  Evanston  avenue  at  a 
lively  clip.  The  bundle  of  clothes,  the  half- 
consumed  sachel,  the  instrument  box  and  the 
leather  sachel  were  hurriedly  loaded  on  the  stretcher, 


THE   CLOTHES    FOUND  487 

under  the  personal  direction  of  Lieutenant  Koch, 
and  carried  to  the  Sheffield  Avenue  Station.  Once 
there,  Lieutenant  Koch  hastened  to  telephone  Chief 
Hubbard  the  details  of  his  important  find,  and  he 
received  orders  to  deliver  it  at  headquarters  as 
quickly  as  possible.  Before  three  o'clock  the  dirty 
packages  were  spread  out  on  a  rubber  tarpaulin  in 
Chief  Hubbard's  private  office.  The  leather  sachel, 
after  being  submitted  to  a  bath  under  a  running 
hydrant,  was  opened,  and  the  first  thing  the 
chief  drew  from  it  convinced  him  that  it  was  the 
missing  sachel  of  the  murdered  doctor.  The 
article  the  chief  selected  was  a  book  that 
had  swollen  to  more  than  twice  its  natural 
size.  He  opened  it  cautiously,  glanced  over 
the  fly  leaf  and  through  the  veneering  of  dirt  he 
was  enabled  to  distinctly  trace  the  name  "  Dr. 
P.  H.  Cronin,"  written  in  the  bold  hand  of  the 
man  who  once  owned  the  book.  In  another  part 
of  it  was  a  package  of  cards  which  were  in  a  fair 
state  of  preservation.  These  proved  to  be  the  doc- 
tor's business  cards.  They  read  : 


DR.  P.    H.  CRQNIN, 
Physician  and  Surgeon,  Chicago. 

Office,  Residence, 

501  Opera  House  468  and  470 

Block.  North  Clark  street. 

Office  Hours  :  Office  Hours: 

II  to  i  p.  m.  9  to  ii  a.  m. 

2  to  5  p.  m.  and  6  to  7:30  p.  m. 


"  We've  got  the  whole  thing,"  exclaimed  Chief 
Hubbard  triumphantly  as  he  held  up  the  tell-tale 
card  to  the  view  of  the  other  officers  when  assem- 


488  THE   GREAT   CRONIN    MYSTERY 

bled  in  his  room.  This  examination  satisfied  him, 
and  he  ordered  the  whole  dirty  mass  to  be  carted 
to  the  Chicago  Avenue  Station,  there  to  be  cleaned 
and  secured,  preparatory  to  delivering  it  to  the 
State's  Attorney. 

This  latest  discovery  recalls  the  frequent  boasts 
of  the  police  that  they  had  searched  every  sewer  on 
Evanston  avenue.  When  it  became  a  settled  fact 
that  the  murderers  had  driven  north  to  Edgewater, 
and  that  during  their  return  to  the  city  they  had 
dumped  the  bloody  trunk  in  the  ditch  above  Sulzer 
road,  the  policemen  who  have  had  charge  of  the 
case  claim  that  they  ordered  a  close  inspection  of 
all  man-holes  and  sewers.  Until  Dr.  Cronin's  body 
was  found  they  continued  to  assert  that  the  inspec- 
tion had  been  thorough,  and,  when  that  important 
event  proved  that  they  were  not  telling  the  truth, 
they  fell  back  on  the  excuse  that  that  particular 
sewer  at  Fifty-ninth  street  had  been  overlooked. 
It  would  seem  that  the  Buena  avenue  sewer  was 
also  overlooked,  and  it  is  not  unlikely  that  every 
other  sewer  in  Lake  View  was  overlooked  in  the 
same  way.  There  never  has  been  a  case  in  which 
the  police  have  blundered  so  artistically  and  pic- 
turesquely as  this  one. 

Every  circumstance  points  to  the  conclusion  that 
•the  murderers,  after  leaving  Officer  Way  at  Edge- 
water,  becoming  alarmed  at  meeting  so  many  police- 
men, turned  around  as  if  to  comeback  to  Chicago. 
The  expedient  of  disposing  of  the  body  in  the 
Fifty-ninth  street  sewer,  only  half  a  mile  from 
Edgewater,  was  a  desperate  one,  but  it  had  to  be 


THE   CLOTHES    FOUND  489 

done  to  avoid  detection.  The  trunk  was  disposed 
of  about  a  mile  south  of  the  sewer,  and  the 
clothes  and  surgical  instruments  half  a  mile  further 
south,  where  they  were  found  yesterday.  The 
murderers  distributed  evidence  of  their  crime  all 
along  the  road,  but,  notwithstanding  this,  the 
police  were  unable  to  find  any  of  it  except  the 
trunk. 

One  important  circumstance  of  the  great  con- 
spiracy still  remains  unexplained.  What  was  con- 
tained in  that  mysterious  tin  box,  covered  with 
yellow  sand  and  dirt,  which  the  murderer  Burke 
took  to  tinsmith  Klahre  two  days  after  the  com- 
mission of  the  crime,  and  guarded  so  carefully, 
while  Klahre  soldered  down  the  lid,  and  rudely 
resisted  all  efforts  of  the  tinner  to  look  inside  of 
it?  The  fact  that  it  did  not  contain  Dr.  Cronin's 
clothes  is  now  clearly  established.  What  it  did 
contain,  may  never  be  discovered  until  that 
great  day  when  all  things  that  are  hidden  shall 
be  revealed.  "  Fortune  "  may,  however,  again 
favor  the  prosecution,  and  by  some  lucky  accident 
bring  to  light  its  probable  ghastly  contents  and  re- 
veal to  the  world  the  possible  fact  that  there  was 
a  double  murder  on  that  fateful  night  of  the  tragedy 
at  the  Carlson  cottage.  The  reader  will,  perhaps, 
remember  that,  at  the  time  of  the  discovery  of  Dr. 
Cronin's  body  in  the  catch-basin,  the  newspapers 
reported  the  finding  of  the  amputated  finger  of  a 
woman  in  close  proximity  to  the  corpse  of  the 
murdered  physician.  Was  there  a  woman  also 
murdered  by  the  conspirators  that  night?  and  did 


490  THE   GREAT   CRONIN   MYSTERY 

the  tin  box,  which  the  murderer  Burke  caused  to 
be  so  carefully  soldered  up,  contain  the  ghastly 
evidence  of  that  fact?  Who  can  tell?  He  That  has 
said  "  Thou  shalt  commit  no  murder,"  and  who  has 
brought  to  nought  the  machinations  of  the  men 
who  thought  to  cover  up  the  evidences  of  their 
terrible  crime,  will,  in  His  own  proper  time  and 
manner,  disclose  to  the  world  that  truth  which  is 
now  known  only  to  the  murderers  thejmselves  and 
Him  who  shall  judge  them  in  eternity. 


DAMNING   PROOF  491 

CHAPTER  XXXIII. 

MORE  DAMNING  PROOF  AGAINST  COUGHLIN, 
O'SULLIVAN  AND  KUNZE  —  NEWS  OF  THE  FIND- 
ING OF  CRONIN'S  CLOTHES  RECEIVED  IN  COURT 

—  A  SUICIDE  IN  THE  SHADOW  OF  THE  COURT 

—  THE  EVIDENCE  BEFORE  THE  JURY  AND  THE 
WORLD  —  THE  ARGUMENTS  OF  COUNSEL  FOR 
THE  PROSECUTION  AND  FOR  THE  DEFENSE  — 
THE  CHARGE  OF  THE  JUDGE  —  THE  VERDICT 
OF  THE  JURY,  AND  How  IT  WAS  RECEIVED  BY 
THE  PRISONERS  —  END  OF  THE  GREAT  CRONIN 
MYSTERY. 

THE  finding  of  the  clothing  and  surgical  instru- 
ments of  Dr.  Cronin  not  having  occurred  until 
about  2:30  o'clock  in  the  afternoon,  the  morning 
session  of  the  court,  on  November  8th,  opened  with- 
out any  unusual  excitement  or  premonition  of  the 
important  announcement  that  was  to  startle  the 
court  at  its  afternoon  session. 

William  Niemann  was  the  most  important  witness. 
He  said  he  was  in  the  saloon  business  on  the  south- 
east corner  of  School  street  and  Ashland  avenue, 
in  Lake  View.  Was  in  same  business  there  May 
4th  last.  He  opened  his  saloon  one  block  and  a  half 
from  the  Carlson  cottage,  on  May  3d,  the  day  before 
the  disappearance  of  Dr.  Cronin.  O'Sullivan  called 
on  him  during  the  morning  to  solicit  a  contract  for 
ice.  Niemann  agreed  to  take  ice  of  his  visitor,  but 
the  latter  said  he  could  not  deliver  ice  that  day. 


492      THE  GREAT  CRONIN  MYSTERY 

Early  in  the  evening  O'Sullivan  entered  the  saloon, 
bought  a  cigar  and  went  away.  His  men  deliv- 
ered ice  at  the  place  the  next  morning.  Niemann 
saw  nothing  more  of  O'Sullivan  until  10:30  o'clock 
on  the  night  of  the  murder.  He  then  entered  the 
saloon  in  the  company  of  two  men,  one  of  whom 
was  a  tall  blonde  with  a  light  mustache  and  a  Prince 
Albert  coat.  The  other  stranger  was  a  blonde, 
too,  but  not  so  tall  as  the  larger  man.  O'Sullivan 
and  his  big  companion  walked  up  to  the  bar  and 
called  for  wine.  The  little  stranger  stood  near  the 
door  and  asked  for  beer. 

"  Oh,  drink  something  better  than  that,"  ex- 
claimed O'Sullivan,  and  the  little  man,  making  no 
objection,  joined  his  companions  in  their  favorite 
tipple.  Two  rounds  of  sherry  were  drank,  and 
then  each  took  a  cigar.  O'Sullivan  paid  the  bill. 
During  the  time  the  three  men  were  in  the  saloon, 
O'Sullivan  and  the  larger  man  were  in  earnest  con- 
versation. Their  heads  were  close  together,  and 
they  talked  so  low  that  Niemann  could  not  hear 
what  they  said.  The  taller  man  did  most  of  the 
talking,  and  frequently  emphasized  his  conversation 
with  gesticulations. 

The  witness  then  satisfactorily  identified  the 
three  men,  O'Sullivan,  Coughlin  and  Kunze,  as 
being  the  three  men  to  whom  he  sold  drinks  in  his 
saloon,  at  10:30  o'clock  p.  m.,  May  4th. 

FINDING   OF   THE    CLOTHES. 

The  news  spread  rapidly,  and  at  5  o'clock  a  curious 
crowd  had  collected  in  the  rain  outside  the  Crimj- 


DAMNING   PROOF  493 

nal  Court  building.  A  patrol  wagon  was  backed 
up  against  the  curbing  in  front  of  the  Michigan 
street  entrance.  In  the  crowd  was  a  slender  young 
man  who  wore  a  rain  coat  and  light-colored 
trousers.  His  face  was  pale,  and  he  appeared 
intensely  excited.  After  pacing  nervously  about 
the  crowd  he  walked  into  one  of  the  corners  of  the 
Dearborn  street  side  of  the  building,  and  blew  his 
brains  out  by  exploding  a  revolver  in  his  mouth. 
He  died  instantly.  For  several  moments  rumors 
came  thick  and  fast  that  one  of  the  murderers  of 
Dr.  Cronin,  overcome  with  remorse,  had  taken  his 
life.  State's  Attorney  Longenecker  and  Captain 
Schuettler  dropped  the  bloody  clothing  of  Dr. 
Cronin,  and  hurried  to  the  suicide.  The  almost 
lifeless  body  was  borne  up  the  iron  steps,  and 
placed  upon  the  floor  of  the  entrance  to  the  deten- 
tion hospital.  There  he  was  recognized  as  Edward 
Rehm,  of  Kansas  City,  who  had  previously  made 
an  attempt  on  his  life,  and  had  been  but  recently 
released  from  the  detention  hospital.  The  young 
man  became  crazy  from  brooding  over  the  conduct 
of  his  fickle  sweetheart,  who  came  here  from 
Kansas  City  several  days  ago.  A  note  written  in 
German  was  taken  from  the  dead  man's  coat.  It 
showed  that  Rehm  was  weary  of  the  world.  A 
woman  who  saw  the  tragedy  fainted,  and  was  borne 
to  a  neighboring  house. 

The  finding  of  Dr.  Cronin  s  clothes,  and  personal 
property  that  he  was  known  to  have  had  with  him 
at  the  time  of  his  disappearance,  practically  com- 
pleted the  case  of  the  prosecution. 


494  THE   GREAT  CRONIN  MYSTERY 

Microscopists  Tolman  and  Belfield,  and  chemist 
Haines,  of  Rush  Medical  College,  by  their  testi- 
mony November  pth,  left  no  doubt  that  the  hair 
and  blood  found  in  the  Carlson  cottage  and  the 
Cronin  trunk  came  from  a  human  being. 

Gerhardt  Wordell  testified  that  on  the  night  of 
May  4th,  at  about  10:30,  he  saw  two  men  go  up 
the  steps  of  the  Carlson  cottage  and  enter  the  door. 
One  of  them  was  about  five  feet  eleven  inches  tall, 
and  the  other  about  five  feet  seven  or -eight. 

November  nth,  young  Gus  Klahre,  who  sealed 
a  mysterious  galvanized  iron  box  for  the  suspect 
thirty-six  hours  after  the  murder  was  committed, 
was  a  strong  witness  for  the  State.  On  May  6th, 
Burke,  accompanied  by  an  expressman,  went  to 
Klahre's  tin-shop.  He  carried  a  box  which  meas- 
ured 14  by  26  inches,  and  which  weighed  about 
fifty  pounds.  A  piece  of  rope  was  tied  around  its 
middle.  When  Klahre  made  a  motion  as  if  intend- 
ing to  cut  the  rope  in  order  to  solder  the  galvanized 
strips  without  hindrance,  Burke  pushed  the  tin- 
smith's arm  aside,  and  told  him  not  to  sever  the 
line.  While  at  his  work,  Klahre  spoke  about  the 
disappearance  of  Dr.  Cronin.  Burke,  without  any 
hesitation,  declared  that  Dr.  Cronin  was  a  British 
spy,  and  that  he  ought  to  have  been  killed.  He 
also  applied  a  vile  epithet  to  the  missing  doctor. 
It  took  the  young  tinsmith  over  an  hour  to  finish 
the  job.  When  the  galvanized  iron  bands  had  been 
securely  soldered  around  the  strange  box,  Burke 
opened  the  door  leading  from  the  basement  work- 
shop to  the  store  stairway.  At  the  same  instant  a 


DAMNING  PROOF  495 

man  appeared  who  took  charge  of  the  receptacle, 
and  carried  it  away.  Burke  followed  the  stranger, 
who  may  have  been  the  expressman  for  all  Klahre 
knows  to  the  contrary.  There  was  sand  on  the 
box,  and  the  tinsmith,  when  he  looked  at  the  heavy 
receptacle,  thought  it  had  been  buried. 

Before  the  clothing  and  surgical  instruments  of 
Dr.  Cronin  were  found  in  the  Evanston  avenue 
sewer  last  week,  it  was  the  theory  of  the  State  that 
this  mysterious  box  contained  the  articles,  and  that 
it  had  been  shipped  to  England  by  the  conspirators 
for  the  purpose  of  proving  that  the  doctor  had 
been  killed  there.  State's  Attorney  Longenecker 
and  his  associates  are  now  at  a  loss  to  account  for 
the  uses  for  which  the  box  was  designed.  Klahre 
was  positive  in  his  identification  of  Burke.  He  had 
picked  him  out  as  his  mysterious  customer  from 
among  other  prisoners  in  the  jail  as  he  recognized 
him  yesterday  in  the  court-room. 

November  I2th  Mrs.  Hoertel,  the  poor  scrub- 
woman, who  heard  Dr.  Cronin's  death  cry  as  she 
was  passing  the  Carlson  cottage  on  the  night  of 
May  4th,  gave  her  testimony  in  court  regarding  the 
fact,  substantially  as  it  has  already  been  stated  in 
these  pages. 

John  E.  McKennon,  of  the  police  department  of 
Winnipeg,  who  searched  Burke  after  the  latter's 
arrest  in  June,  was  the  next  witness.  He  carried 
a  big  yellow  sachel  which  the  prisoner  had  taken  to 
Winnipeg.  The  testimony  of  the  officer  only  con- 
firmed  what  has  already  been  printed  about  Burke's 
movements  in  Manitoba.  When  arrested  he  had 


496  THE   GREAT   CRONIN  MYSTERY 

confessed  having  traveled  under  the  assumed  names 
of  Cooper  and  Delaney.  A  railroad  ticket  from 
Winnipeg  to  Montreal,  an  Allen  Line  steamship 
ticket  from  Montreal  to  Liverpool  and  $58.20  in 
money  were  taken  from  Burke  by  McKennon. 
While  in  the  station  house  in  Winnipeg  the  pris- 
oner was  nervous  and  exited.  He  told  many 
falsehoods  which  he  afterward  admitted,  and  said 
he  had  worked  his  way  from  Chicago  to  Winnipeg, 
and  was  on  his  way  to  the  old  country. 

November  I3th,  after  recalling  Mr.  McKennon 
to  testify  as  to  reasons  given  him  by  Burke  for  adopt- 
ing an  alias,  the  prosecution  rested  its  case,  and 
the  court  adjourned  until  Saturday,  November  i6th, 
on  which  date  the  taking  of  testimony  for  the  de- 
fense was  begun.  Apart  from  the  medical  testi- 
mony on  behalf  of  the  defense,  an  effort  was  made 
to  impeach  Mrs.  Hoertel's  testimony  by  calling  a 
man  named  Salzman,  who  lived  in  Hoertel's  house, 
and  who  testified  regarding  the  date  on  which 
Hoertel  put  a  new  lock  on  the  house  for  the  pur- 
pose of  locking  his  wife  out.  Mrs.  Hoertel  testified 
that  the  lock  was  put  on  before  May  4th,  and  that 
she  was  locked  out  of  her  house  by  her  husband, 
and  had  to  sit  for  two  nights  on  the  porch.  Salz- 
man testified  that  he  assisted  the  husband,  Hoertel, 
to  put  on  the  lock,  and  that  the  lock  was  not  put 
on  until  after  May  8th.  His  evidence  was,  however, 
squarely  impeached  by  the  woman  who  sold  the 
lock,  and  who  testified  that  she  remembered  of 
selling  it  to  Hoertel,  because  he  told  her  that  he 
wanted  to  lock  his  wife  out,  and  she  knew  it  was 


DAMNING  PROOF  497 

before  the  4th;  and  also  by  Albert  H.  Kleincke,  a 
contractor  and  builder,  who  remembered  seeing 
Mrs.  Hoertel  climb  a  ladder  and  get  into  the  sec- 
ond-story window  of  her  house  one  day,  shortly  be- 
fore May  4th.  William  Coughlin,Danahy  and  others 
were  called  by  the  defense  to  prove  that  Burke 
was  at  William  Coughlin's  saloon  on  East  Chicago 
avenue  on  the  night  of  May  4th,  and  also  a  long 
number  of  witnesses  to  prove  that  Patrick  O'Sullivan 
was  in  bed  on  the  night  of  May  4th,  and  did  not  leave 
the  house  after  six  o'clock  that  evening.  An 
analysis  of  the  evidence  tending  to  prove  the  alibi, 
shows  considerable  discrepancy  in  times  and  dates 
by  the  witnesses,  and,  while  it  would  be  error  for 
the  counsel  for  the  State  to  in  anyway  comment 
upon  the  fact  that  the  defendants  were  not  put 
upon  the  stand  in  their  own  behalf,  it  is  neverthe- 
less regarded  by  them  as  a  great  admission  of 
weakness,  which  is  expected  to  have  an  influence 
with  the  jury. 

The  testimony  for  the  defense  was  closed  Novem- 
ber 26th,  and  the  prosecution's  testimony  in  rebut- 
tal November  3Oth.  The  defense  then  introduced 
several  witnesses  to  support  the  theory  of  an  alibi 
for  Burke.  Then  came  the  most  sensational  scene 
of  the  entire  trial.  The  State's  Attorney  an- 
nounced to  the  court  that  he  had  some  evidence 
that  had  only  come  to  his  knowledge  that  morn- 
ing at  ten  o'clock,  which,  though  properly 
evidence  in  chief,  he  felt  like  asking  the  court, 
under  the  circumstances,  to  introduce  now.  Mr. 
Forrest  objected  to  re-opening  the  case.  The 

Cronin  Mystery  32 


498  THE   GREAT   CRONIN   MYSTERY 

court  ruled  that  the  evidence  should  be  admitted, 
with  the  understanding  that  it  should  not  delay 
the  opening  of  the  case  to  the  jury,  and  that  the 
defense  might  have  time  to  answer. 

"  Barney  Flynn!  "  shouted  Judge  Longenecker. 
Dan  Coughlin  started  nervously  as  the  name  of  the 
little  detective  was  pronounced,  and,  for  the  first 
time  since  the  trial  began,  his  face  became  as  pale 
as  death.  By  a  superhuman  effort  he  recovered 
himself,  and,  setting  his  heavy  jaws  firmly  together, 
he  managed  to  assume  an  air  of  unconcern.  His 
little  eyes  wandered  restlessly  in  every  direction, 
and  his  big  form  trembled  perceptibly,  but  the  only 
person  in  the  court-room  who  seemed  to  notice  his 
emotion  was  his  attorney,  Forrest.  The  latter 
renewed  his  protest  against  the  admission  of  new 
evidence  more  emphatically  than  ever,  but  Flynn 
took  the  stand,  was  sworn,  and  was  ordered  to  pro- 
ceed. Coughlin  looked  him  straight  in  the  eyes, 
and  Flynn  returned  the  look  with  a  chilly  stare. 
The  little  detective,  who  is  at  present  connected 
with  the  Chicago  Avenue  Police  Station,  told  a 
startling  story,  the  force  of  which  struck  every  man 
in  the  prisoners'  box  and  the  attorneys' quarter  like 
a  blow  from  a  base-ball  bat.  Flynn  was  the  man 
who  arrested  Coughlin  after  the  latter  concluded 
his  famous  interview  with  Chief  Hubbard.  He  took 
him  to  the  Armory  Police  Station,  where,  in  the 
presence  of  Captain  Bartram,  he  searched  him. 
Among  other  things  he  found  in  Coughlin's  pockets 
were  two  pocket-knives  and  a  revolver.  These  he 
carried  to  the  Central  Police  Station,  and  locked  in 


DAMNING    PROOF  499 

his  private  box  for  safe-keeping,  and,  when  he  was 
subsequently  transferred  to  the  Chicago  Avenue 
Station,  he  removed  them  to  his  box  in  the  vault 
of  the  Fidelity  Bank.  There  they  remained  undis- 
turbed until  yesterday  morning,  whenFlynn  turned 
the  knives  over  to  Chief  Hubbard.  The  latter  sub- 
mitted them  to  T.  T.  Conklin,  who  unhesitatingly 
declared  they  were  the  property  of  Dr.  Cronin. 

Then  T.  T.  Conklin  took  the  stand.  The  knives 
were  handed  him  by  Judge  Longenecker.  He 
glanced  at  the  larger  one,  a  medium-sized,  pearl- 
handled  affair,  which  he  promptly  identified  as  a 
knife  he  gave  Dr.  Cronin  about  a  year  ago.  "  It 
was  a  knife  I  carried  myself  for  nearly  two  years," 
said  Mr.  Conklin,  "  hence  I  know  it."  The  smaller 
knife,  a  little  bone-handled  thing  of  peculiar 
shape,  was  identified  by  Dr.  Cronin's  friend  as  one 
he  found  about  nine  months  ago.  He  took  it 
home,  and  laid  it  on  a  mantel,  where  Dr.  Cronin 
subsequently  found  it.  The  doctor  took  possession 
of  the  knife,  and  always  carried  it  in  his  vest  pocket. 
Forrest  merely  asked  Conklin  if  the  knives  were 
not  of  a  very  ordinary  pattern,  and  then  let  him  go. 
Judge  McConnell  said  Forrest  could  introduce  re- 
buttal testimony  whenever  he  got  ready. 

Simon  Oleson  and  Fred  Swanson  were  then 
called  and  re-examined  on  behalf  of  the  State. 

Some  conversation  followed  as  to  how  soon  the 
witness,  Siegerson,  the  livery  stable  man,  could  be 
brought  in  court,  and  Judge  McConnell  decided 
not  to  wait  any  longer,  but  to  require  the  State's 
Attorney  to  proceed  at  once  to  address  the  jury. 


50O  THE   GREAT   CRONIN   MYSTERY 

State's  Attorney  Longenecker  began  his  ad- 
dress to  the  jury,  but  did  not  complete  it  until  the 
following  day.  When  the  court  opened  the  next 
morning,  Mr.  Forrest  announced  that  he  had  some 
witnesses  to  rebut  the  testimony  as  to  the  knives 
found  upon  Coughlin,  and  called  for  August  Lowen- 
stein,  a  clothier.  Lowenstein  testified  that  on  April 
2/th,  Dan  Coughlin  came  to  his  store,  and  bought  a 
pair  of  pantaloons.  As  he  changed  them,  he  took 
the  things  from  the  pocket  and  laid  them  on  a  table. 
Among  them  were  two  knives,  and  witness  thought 
the  ones  in  court  were  the  same.  Asked  on  cross- 
examination  how  he  recollected  the  incident 
occurred  on  April  27th,  he  replied,  that  there  was 
an  item  on  his  books  of  a  sale  of  a  pair  of  panta- 
loons for  $5.50,  on  that  date. 

"  Was  Coughlin 's  name  attached  to  the  entry?" 
asked  the  State's  Attorney. 

"  It  was  not,"  Lowenstein  replied;  "  but  I  re- 
member that  Coughlin  was  the  one  to  whom  the 
sale  was  made. " 

Jake  Lowenstein,  a  brother  of  August,  and  a 
discharged  member  of  the  police  force,  followed, 
and,  with  never  a  quiver  in  his  eye,  swore  that  he 
had,  when  traveling  with  Dan  Coughlin,  often  seen 
Coughlin's  knives. 

"  Are  these  the  ones?  "  asked  Attorney  Forrest. 

After  a  careful  examination,  the  witness  thought 
they  were,  and  he  based  his  recollection  on  the  pe- 
culiar manner  in  which  the  blades  were  ground. 
This  ended  the  alibi  for  the  knives. 


STATE'S  ATTORNEY'S  ADDRESS  501 

STATE'S  ATTORNEY  LONGENECKER'S   ADDRESS. 

"  If  the  court  please,  gentlemen  of  the  jury,  I  want 
to  talk  to  you  in  this  case  about  the  evidence  that 
you  have  been  hearing  from  the  witnesses.  I 
shall  not  attempt  to  talk  to  any  one  except  to  you 
twelve  men,  because  you  are  now  interested  in  the 
case,  and  it  is  your  duty  to  come  to  a  correct  con- 
clusion, and  because  the  responsibility  rests  upon 
you  after  we  have  done  our  duty.  I  have  no  doubt 
that  you  twelve  men  are  competent  to  render  such 
a  verdict  in  this  case  as  will  meet  the  demands  of 
the  law." 

After  making  a  few  further  preliminary  remarks 
the  State's  Attorney  began  a  review  of  the  evidence 
against  the  defendants,  and  before  the  court  ad- 
journed for  the  day  he  had  so  lucidly  explained  the 
rather  complicated  workings  of  Camp  20  as  to  leave 
no  doubt  in  the  minds  of  his  hearers  as  to  the  guilt 
of  the  conspirator  who  appointed  the  secret  com- 
mittee—  John  F.  Beggs. 

Mr.  Longenecker  did  not  conclude  his  address 
until  the  following  day,  November  3Oth.  After 
spending  nearly  three-quarters  of  an  hour  elaborat- 
ing upon  the  incidents  and  facts  pertaining  to  the 
original  conspiracy  in  Camp  20,  he  concluded  that 
feature  of  the  case  by  calling  attention  to  Begg' 
reply  made  to  a  question  on  May  3d,  that  the 
secret  committee  would  report  to  the  senior  guard- 
ian and  nobody  else.  Then  followed  a  powerful 
arraignment  of  every  one  of  the  five  defendants, 
and  a  masterly  statement  of  all  the  details  of  the 


502  THE   GREAT   CRONIN   MYSTERY 

testimony  against  them.       He  closed   his   address 
with  the  following  peroration: 

"  When  you  come  to  consider  your  verdict,  think 
of  the  4th  day  of  May;  think  of  that  man  gather- 
ing his  little  valise  and  instruments;  think  of  him 
bringing  to  his  bosom  the  cotton  to  relieve  suffer- 
ing; think  of  the  splints  in  the  box;  think  of  his 
rushing  out  to  the  buggy;  think  of  his  crowded 
seat;  think  of  him  moving  north  to  relieve  suffer- 
ing humanity.  See  him  enter  as  a  gentleman  into 
the  cottage;  hear  his  cries  of  God  and  Jesus  when, 
without  giving  him  time  to  utter  the  other  Trinity 
name,  he  was  felled  to  the  floor.  Think  of  his 
wounds  in  his  head;  think  of  the  grave  in  which  he 
was  placed;  think  of  all  these  in  making  up  your 
penalty,  and"  may  it  be  such  a  verdict  as  when  his 
honor  pronounces  judgment  on  it,  that  he,  having 
an  eye  to  God,  may  say:  '  May  the  Lord  have 
mercy  on  your  souls." 

JUDGE   WING'S   ADDRESS. 

Judge  Wing,  the  attorney  of  Daniel  Coughlin, 
then  addressed  the  jury  in  behalf  of  his  client. 

"  May  it  please  your  honor  and  gentlemen 
of  the  jury:  —  Speaking  for  my  client,  Dan- 
iel Coughlin,  and  for  his  wife  and  children  as  well, 
and  voicing  too,  the  gratitude  of  my  own  heart,  I 
wish,  at  the  outset,  to  thank  you  each  and  all  for 
the  great  patience  and  close  attention  you  have 
given  to  this  case  during  the  weary  weeks  that  have 
passed.  What  is  the  charge,  gentlemen  of  the 
jury,  that  is  made  against  my  client,  Daniel  Cough- 


JUDGE   WINGTS   ADDRESS  503 

lin  ?  Stripped  of  legal  verbiage,  stated  in  plain 
language,  it  is  this:  That  he  made  an  agreement 
with  the  men  who  sit  beside  him,  and  with  oth- 
ers, to  the  grand  jury  unknown,  to  kill  Dr.  Cronin." 

Judge  Wing  then  went  into  a  minute  examina- 
tion and  analysis  of  all  the  circumstances  connected 
with  the  great  conspiracy  and  murder,  and  cau- 
tioned the  jury  as  to  the  unreliability  of  circum- 
stantial evidence.  He  continued  his  address  on 
Monday  and  Tuesday,  and  had  an  appreciative 
audience  throughout  his  entire  address.  He  took 
the  broad  ground,  in  meeting  the  different  circum- 
stances on  which  the  prosecution  rests,  that  the 
proof  of  guilt  is  not  established  beyond  a  reason- 
able doubt.  He  closed  with  the  following  words: 

"  Gentlemen,  I  have  tried  to  discuss  this  case 
fairly,  conscientiously.  We  are  about  to  part,  and 
I  beg  you,  in  conclusion,  not  to  go  off  upon  any 
prejudice,  or  upon  any  passion,  or  upon  any  sus- 
picion. I  beg  of  you  to  give  these  men  a  fair  show. 
I  believe  you  will  do  that.  I  beg  of  you  to 
remember  that  a  certain  conclusion  can  only  be 
reached  after  you  have  traveled  on  sure  and  certain 
ground.  Do  what  you  think  is  right  under  the 
law,  gentlemen,  and  I  do  not  doubt  you  will.  I 
thank  you  for  your  attention.  " 

LAWYER  INGHAM'S  ADDRESS. 

George  W.  Ingham  then  addressed  the  jury  for 
the  State  and  said  : 

"  May  it  please  your  honor,  gentlemen  of  the  jury: 
The  sanctity  of  human  life  in  America  is  in  the 


504  THE   GREAT   CRONIN    MYSTERY 

keeping  of  the  juries  of  America.  The  law  pro- 
vides that  a  man  guilty  of  murder  shall  be 
punished,  but  it  provides  no  methods  for  its  own 
enforcement  save  that  which  is  vested  in  twelve 
men." 

Mr.  Ingham  then  proceded  to  what  constitutes 
murder,  under  the  statutes  of  Illinois.  He  then 
took  up  the  Cronin  case  from  the  time  that  J.  B. 
Simonds  purchased  the  furniture  at  Revell's,  until 
the  day  Dr.  Cronin's  clothes  were  found  in  the 
catch-basin.  He  showed  how  Simonds  in  purchas- 
ing the  furniture,  was  particular  about  procuring 
a  set  for  temporary  use,  selecting  the  articles  that 
the  salesman  Hatfield  first  drew  his  attention  to; 
but  that  he  selected  the  trunk,  strap  and  valise 
with  great  care  insisting  upon  the  exact  ones  he 
wanted. 

Mr.  Ingham  grouped  the  facts  of  the  case  with 
wonderful  rapidity,  and  in  a  remarkably  lucid  man- 
ner. He  brought  out,  distinctly  and  clearly,  the 
connection  between  Dan  Coughlin,  his  mysterious 
friend  Smith  and  Martin  Burke,  with  John  F.  Ryan, 
the  Hancock  man,  who  is  sometimes  believed  to  be 
no  other  than  J.  B.  Simonds.  The  failure  of  the 
defense  to  offer  the  slightest  explanation  of  the 
renting  of  the  Carlson  cottage  by  Burke,  under  an 
assumed  name,  his  failure  to  furnish  it  as  a  man 
would  who  intended  to  live  there,  and  the  failure 
of  his  alleged  sister  to  substantiate  his  story,  were 
given  a  scathing  review. 

His  closing  remarks  were  as  follows: 

"  On  the  call  of  Providence  you   are  here  now, 


DANIEL  DONOHUE,  Attorney  for  O'Sullivan  and  Kunze. 


506  THE   GREAT   CRONIN   MYSTERY 

and  your  duty  is  before  you.  Recollect,  gentle- 
men, that  while  your  duty  is  serious  and  burden- 
some, it  is  also  of  vast  importance.  Remember, 
gentlemen,  that  your  duty  is  just  as  important  and 
as  necessary,  and  the  necessity  for  courage  and 
determination  to  carry  out  that  duty  is  as  great 
as  it  would  be  upon  the  battlefield,  or  in  any  other 
walk  of  life.  Deal  with  these  men  justly,  execute 
the  law,  satisfy  your  own  consciences,  and  the  rest 
of  us  will  be  satisfied." 

LAWYER  DONAHOE'S  ADDRESS. 

At  the  opening  of  the  court,  Wednesday  morn- 
ing, December  5th,  Mr.  Daniel  Donahoe,  counsel  for 
the  defendants  Patrick  O'Sullivan  and  JohnKunze, 
began  his  argument  to  the  jury  as  follows: 

"May  it  please  your  honor  and  gentlemen  of  the 
the  jury :  There  is  no  duty  in  the  life  of  the  law- 
yer that  affords  him  more  pleasure  than  defending 
the  innocent;  therefore,  I  begin  to  plead  for  the 
life  of  my  two  clients,  Patrick  O'Sullivan  and  John 
Kunze,  with  a  heart  as  light  as  the  newly  made 
bride  as  she  goes  forth  with  her  husband  after  the 
bridal  ceremony.  I  have  but  one  thing  to  fear  for 
the  welfare  of  my  clients  at  your  hands,  and  that 
is  prejudice. " 

Mr.  Donahoe  then  proceeded  to  discuss  the  tes- 
timony introduced  against  and  in  favor  of  his  cli- 
ents at  the  trial,  covering  every  point  of  the  evi- 
dence. His  main  argument  in  their  behalf  was  the 
failure  of  the  prosecution  to  establish  any  proof  of 
,-a  guilty  knowledge  connecting  them  either  directly 


LAWYER  DONOHOE'S  ADDRESS  507 

or  indirectly  with  the  murder  of  Dr.  Cronin.  He 
closed  his  address  with  the  following  eloquent 
appeal  to  the  sympathies  of  the  jurors: 

"  The  more  merciful  a  man  is,  the  more  godlike 
he  is!  But,  gentlemen  of  the  jury,  do  not  misun- 
derstand me.  Do  not  think  that  I  am  asking  for 
mercy  for  my  clients.  Oh,  no;  not  at  all;  not  at 
all.  I  ask  that  you  carefully  weigh  this  evidence, 
consider  the  law,  be  governed  by  the  legal  evidence 
and  the  law,  and  that  is  all  that  I  ask  you  to  do. 
I  believe  that  if  you  banish  everything  from  your 
minds  but  the  law  and  the  evidence  in  this  case, 
that  the  God  that  gave  you  a  head  to  think  and  a 
heart  to  feel  for  your  fellowmen,  the  God  that  gave 
you  an  existence,  will  never  permit  you  to  strangle 
my  clients.  Oh,  no,  unless  you  are  ready  to  guess 
them  into  eternity,  you  can't  convict  them  on  this 
proof.  I  tried  this  case  fairly,  I  have  treated 
every  witness  fairly,  I  have  been  respectful  to  the 
court  and  I  have  been  respectful  to  you.  These 
two  young  men's  welfare,  their  lives,  are  confided 
to  your  hands.  For  God's  sake,  for  their  sake,  for 
your  sake,  make  no  mistake.  Gentlemen,  I  thank 
you." 

Mr.  Donahoe  having  concluded  his  argument, 
the  court  took  a  recess  until  ten  o'clock  next  morn- 
ing. 

LAWYER   HYNES'  ADDRESS. 

At  the  opening  of  the  court  Wednesday  morning, 
December  5th,  William  J.  Hynes,  on  behalf  of  the 


508  THE   GREAT   CRONIN   MYSTERY 

prosecution,  began  his  address  to  the  jury,  as  fol- 
lows: 

"  May  it  please  your  honor  and  gentlemen  of  the 
jury:  I  congratulate  myself,  and  I  congratulate  you, 
gentlemen  of  the  jury,  as  well  as  everybody  engaged 
in  this  case,  that  we  are  approaching  the  close  of 
it.  I  shall  endeavor,  as  far  as  I  may  be  able  to  do 
it  with  justice  to  the  duty  that  I  feel  called  upon  to 
perform,  to  close  the  case  as  soon  as  possible.  In 
what  I  have  to  say  I  shall  address  myself  to  those 
matters  which,  I  think,  will  reach  your  judgment — 
which,  I  think,  will  seem  to  you  to  be  pertinent  to 
the  issue  which  you  have  to  determine." 

Mr.  Hynes  then  went  on  and  showed  how  the 
defendants  had  constructed  their  plan  of  defense  in 
advance  of  committing  the  crime  for  which  they 
were  now  being  tried,  and  how  that  plan  had  to  be 
changed  after  the  discovery  of  the  clothes,  and  the 
thereby  positive  identification  of  the  corpse  found 
in  the  catch-basin  as  the  body  of  Dr.  Cronin.  He 
argued  that  O'Sullivan's  own  admissions,  supported 
by  the  testimony  of  his  room-mate,  Mulcahy, 
clearly  showed  that  O'Sullivan  was  out  of  his  house 
on  the  night  of  May  4th,  and,  at  the  rear  of  his 
wagon-shed,  a  few  feet  from  the  Carlson  cottage. 
This  settled  the  alibi  business  for  O'Sullivan,  and 
disproved  the  testimony  of  O'Sullivan's  friends 
who  swore  that  he  did  not  leave  his  house  that 
night.  He  pointed  out  the  discrepancies  in  the 
testimony  of  the  Hylands  and  others,  who  tried  to 
make  alibis  for  O'Sullivan.  As  to  the  alibi 
attempted  to  be  set  up  for  Coughlin,  he  said,  that 


LAWYER  HYNES'  SPEECH  509 

even  if,  as  claimed  by  Coughlin,  he  was  standing 
in  front  of  the  Chicago  Avenue  Station  on  the 
night  of  May  4th,  still  his  connection  as  a  principle 
in  the  crime  was  clearly  proven  by  his  employ- 
ment of  Dinan's  white  horse  for  his  friend  Smith 
from  Hancock.  Mr.  Hynes  then  proceeded  to 
show  how  the  evidence  before  the  jury  had  clearly 
established  the  appointment  of  a  secret  committee 
by  Camp  20  to  try  Dr.  Cronin,  and  how  his 
"  removal  "  followed  soon  thereafter. 

Mr.  Hynes  did  not  close  his  address  on  Thurs- 
day, but  reserved  his  parting  words  until  Friday 
morning,  and  concluded  his  address  Friday  noon. 
His  closing  words  were  as  follows  : 

"  I  want  you  now,  gentlemen  of  the  jury,  to  take 
this  case.  It  is  a  'great  case  and  a  serious  case. 
There  never  was  a  greater  or  more  serious  duty 
devolved  upon  the  judgment,  the  responsibility,  of 
any  twelve  men  on  God's  earth.  Your  duty  is  as 
sacred,  it  is  as  important,  as  the  duty  of  the  soldier 
who  went  out  to  fight  for  the  flag  and  to  maintain 
the  unity  of  the  States  and  the  sovereignity  of  the 
constitution.  In  committing  it  to  you,  gentlemen 
of  the  jury,  with  all  its  awful  solemnity,  with  all  its 
awful  responsibility,  I  do  it,  feeling  confident  that 
in  the  breast  of  every  one  of  these  twelve  men  there 
beats  the  heart  of  an  honorable,  honest,  patriotic, 
and  law-abiding  man  and  citizen.  I  commit  it  to 
you,  feeling,  gentlemen,  that  your  verdict  will  be 
the  verdict  of  your  conscience,  a  verdict  that  your 
conscience  and  your  judgment  will  approve,  a  ver- 
dict that  the  court  will  ratify,  and  that  God  will 


510  THE   GREAT   CRONlN   MYSTERY 

v 

sanctify,  and  that  will  vindicate  the  law,  and  com- 
mitt  the  guilty  to  a  just  punishment." 

At  the  conclusion  of  Mr.  Hynes'  address  the 
court  adjourned  to  two  o'clock. 

LAWYER  FOSTER'S  ADDRESS. 

At  the  opening  of  the  court  in  the  afternoon, 
Mr.  Foster,  in  defense  of  John  F.  Beggs,  arose  and 
addressed  the  jury  as  follows: 

"  Of  course  it  is  needless  for  me  to  say  that  this 
is  in  many  respects  a  most  important  and  remarka- 
ble trial.  Every  trial  involving  human  life  is 
important.  When  this  trial  began  it  was  summer. 
During  its  progress  autumn  has  come  and  gone, 
and  now  it  is  winter.  For  weeks  you  have  been 
practically  prisoners.  However,  I  am  justified  in 
saying,  that  very  little  of  this  time  has  been  taken 
up  by  my  client  or  by  me.  Very  little  of  this 
extraordinary  record,  the  report  of  which  you  see 
piled  up  before  you,  relates  to  the  only  man  for 
whom  I  am  authorized  to  speak." 

Mr.  Foster  then  proceded  to  deliver  a  most  elo- 
quent appeal  in  behalf  of  his  client.  He  com- 
plained of  some  things  in  the  conduct  of  the 
prosecution,  of  which  he  believed  he  had  a  right 
to  complain. 

He  thought  he  had  just  cause  for  complaint,  that 
in  this  case  the  State's  Attorney  had  gone  outside 
the  ample  provision  of  the  statute,  which  provided 
him  with  five  assistants,  and  had  allowed  the  oppo- 
sition camps,  as  they  were  called,  to  hire  lawyers 
of  peculiar  adaptation  to  the  case,  to  come  in  and 


LAWYER  FOSTER'S  ADDRESS  511 

practically  take  the  management  of  it  from  where 
the  people  had  placed  it.  "  I  complain  of  it,"  he 
said,  "  because  I  fear  it.  The  law  only  requires  in 
this  case,  as  in  every  other,  a  fair  and  full  presen- 
tation of  all  the  facts.  It  never  was  contemplated 
that  verdicts  should  be  extorted  from  juries  by  the 
force  of  eloquence." 

Mr.  Foster  did  not  conclude  his  address  on 
Friday,  but  announced  that  he  would  do  so  the 
following  day.  At  the  opening  of  the  court  Satur- 
day morning,  Mr.  Foster  resumed  his  address. 
He  began  with  a  discussion  of  the  meeting  of  Camp 
20,  on  February  8th.  He  said: 

"  One  of  the  counsel  for  the  State  asked  the 
question  :  '  Why  did  we  not  call  Thomas  Murphy 
to  the  stand  ?'  Thomas  Murphy  is  the  treasurer  of 
Camp  20,  and  in  the  '  best  recollection'  of  one  of 
the  witnesses  here  was  the  man  who  seconded  the 
motion  made  by  Dan  Coughlin  for  the  appointment 
of  the  famous  secret  committee.  Mr.  Beggs'  posi- 
tion is,  and  always  has  been,  that  this  committee 
was  never  appointed.  That  is  his  position,  and  I 
am  sorry  that  it  is  so.  Thomas  Murphy  was  the 
treasurer  of  Camp  20,  and  had  the  books  of  the 
camp  showing  the  receipts  and  expenditures  of  the 
money  of  Camp  20,  and  the  State's  Attorney  asks 
why  we  did  not  call  him  as  a  witness. 

"  I  retort  the  question  on  the  gentleman's  head. 
Why  did  not  the  State  call  Thomas  Murphy  ?  If 
the  State's  Attorney  will  look  on  the  back  of  the 
indictment  in  this  case,  he  will  find  the  name  of 
Thomas  Murphy  as  a  witness  for  the  State.  He 


512  THE   GREAT   CRONIN   MYSTERY 

i 

will  find  the  name  of  Thomas  Murphy  among  the 
subpoenas  issued  by  the  State.  Mr.  Murphy  was 
called  to  testify  before  the  coroner's  jury,  and  the 
grand  jury,  and  told  what  he  knew.  And,  more 
than  that,  the  books  of  the  organization  were 
brought  into  the  State's  Attorney,  and  they  have 
them  yet  as  records.  But  Thomas  Murphy  was 
not  put  on  the  stand  by  the  State.  After  the 
repeated  examination  of  Mr.  Murphy  by  the  State's 
Attorney,  they  say  to  him  that  they  do  not  want 
him  to  testify  in  this  case. " 

Mr.  Foster  then  stated  to  the  jury  that  under  the 
law,  it  was  not  incumbent  on  the  defense  to  explain 
the  coincidence  in  time  of  the  renting  of  the 
Clark  street  flat  and  Beggs' first  letter  to  Spellman, 
but  that  it  rested  upon  the  State  to  show  a  neces- 
sary relation  between  the  two  facts,  and  that  if  the 
coincidence  could  be  possible,  on  any  theory  con- 
sistent with  the  innocence  of  his  client,  the  jury 
could  not  be  justified  in  inferring  a  guilty  connec- 
tion. He  showed  how,  from  the  discovery  of  Dr. 
Cronin's  body  in  the  catch-basin,  down  to  the 
present  time,  the  conduct  of  Beggs  had  been  con- 
sistent with  the  theory  of  his  innocence.  Ignorant 
members  of  Camp  20,  hesitating  between  their 
oath  of  secrecy  to  the  Clan-na-Gael,  and  their  duty 
as  witnesses  before  the  grand  jury,  had  appealed 
to  him  as  Senior  Guardian  for  direction.  "'Tell 
everything,'  was  Beggs'  instruction,"  said  Mr. 
Foster.  "  While  Luke  Dillon,  the  friend  of  Dr. 
Cronin,  the  abetter  of  the  prosecution,  the  man 
who  had  been  sent  from  Philadelphia  to  purge  the 


ARGUMENT    OF  MR.    FORREST  513 

society  of  crime,  said,  'Don't  go  too  far.'  By  the 
statement  of  the  public  prosecutor  himself,  corrob- 
orated by  the  chief  of  police,  it  appeared  that  Beggs 
had  been  the  first  to  disclose  the  correspondence 
with  Spellman."  Mr.  Foster  closed  with  the  fol- 
lowing appeal  to  the  judgment  of  the  jury: 

"  I  have  no  peroration  to  make.  I  demand  your 
cool,  deliberate  judgment,  and  that  is  all  I  ask. 
I  make  no  appeal  to  your  sympathy.  On  behalf  of 
myself,  and  on  behalf  of  Beggs,  and  of  my  asso- 
ciates, I  extend  to  you  thanks  for  the  kind  and 
patient  manner  in  which  you  have  listened  to  the 
testimony  and  listened  to  my  efforts  at  an  argu- 
ment. 

"  I  hope  the  time  is  short  when  he  will  be  able  to 
thank  each  one  of  you,  to  take  each  of  you  by  the 
hand  and  in  person  thank  you  for  his  deliverance, 
and  then  may  you  be  returned  to  the  loved  ones  at 
home,  and  may  he  be  returned  to  the  bosom  of 
his  loved  wife,  for  love  makes  the  world  so  small 
that  all  the  beauty  is  in  one  face,  all  the  music  in 
one  voice,  and  all  the  rapture  is  in  one  kiss.  Gentle- 
men, I  thank  you." 

ARGUMENT  OF  MR.    FORREST. 

When  Mr.  Foster  had  concluded  his  address, 
the  court  asked  Mr.  Forrest  if  he  was  ready  to 
proceed.  He  replied  that  he  was,  and  at  once 
commenced  his  address  to  the  jury,  as  follows: 

"  If  your  honor  please,  and  you,  gentlemen  of 
the  jury,  you  sit  in  judgment  on  the  lives  of  your 
fellow-citizens.  You  act,  you  look  like  men  who 


5l4  THE   GREAT  CRONIN   MYSTERY 

are  thoroughly  imbued  with  a  sense  of  your 
responsibility.  You  have  listened  attentively  to  all 
the  details  of  the  testimony.  You  have  listened 
with  admiration  to  the  discussion  of  the  testimony 
by  the  distinguished  gentlemen  who  have  preceded 
me.  You  cannot  have  failed  to  note  the  radical 
difference  between  the  method  of  treating  the  evi- 
dence by  counsel  for  the  defendant  and  by  counsel 
for  the  people.  One  .is  wrong,  altogether  wrong; 
the  other  is  right,  altogether  right.  The  question  is 
an  important  one.  You  will  hear  my  discussion 
on  it  and  the  discussion  of  Brother  Mills,  and  then 
you  will  hear  the  judge  pronounce  upon  the  method 
of  treating  the  evidence. 

"  Counsel  for  the  defendants,"  he  said,  "  radi- 
cally differ  in  their  method  from  the  processes  of 
counsel  for  the  prosecution.  They  proposed  a 
town  meeting  method.  We  used  that  of  analysis, 
and  they  object  to  it,  and  we  submit  that  ours  is 
the  proper  method.  And,  for  that  reason,  I  have 
spent  hours  in  reading  these  cases,  and  that  it  is 
correct  you  will  see  if  the  court  so  charges  you. 
This  method  we  insist  on.  And,  with  this  exhaust- 
ive statement  of  the  case,  we  leave  it  with  you  until 
Monday  morning,  when  we  shall  take  up  each  cir- 
cumstance by  itself  by  the  method  proposed." 

Whereupon  the  court  took  arecess  until  ten  o'clock 
Monday  morning. 

At  the  opening  of  the  court  Monday  morning, 
December  9th,  Mr.  Forrest  resumed  his  address. 
For  some  little  time  the  burden  of  his  argument  was 
the  unreliability  of  circumstantial  evidence,  and  the 


ARGUMENT  OF  MR.    FORREST  515 

worthlessness  of  theories  of  prosecuting  officers  in 
determining  the  guilt  or  innocence  of  the  accused. 
He  cited  as  an  instance  of  this  unreliability  the 
State's  theory  in  the  present  case,  that  the  clothes 
of  Dr.  Cronin  had  been  sent  to  Europe  in  the  tin 
box  which  Burke  had  so  carefully  soldered  up. 
Had  not  the  clothes  been  discovered  in  the  catch- 
basin,  the  theory  would  have  been  argued  and 
dwelt  upon  by  the  prosecution.  Mr.  Forrest  then 
argued  that  the  testimony  of  the  witnesses  for  the 
State  should  not  be  given  full  weight  on  account  of 
the  fact  that  each  one  of  them  had  a  personal  inter- 
est in  proving  the  defendants  guilty.  "  Now,  for 
instance,"  he  said,  "  it  is  worth  $100  a  week  to  Pat 
Dinan  to  have  it  established  that  his  horse  is  the 
horse  that  took  the  doctor  away.  He  has  told  you 
that  on  the  witness  stand.  It  is  worth  $100  a 
week  to  him  to  have  that  horse  in  the  dime 
museum."  Mr.  Forrest  then  proceeded  with  an 
analysis  of  the  testimony  given  by  the  various 
witnesses  for  the  prosecution,  and  pointed  out 
many  inconsistencies  therein.  Court  adjourned 
until  two  o'clock  p.  m.  At  the  afternoon  session, 
Mr.  Forrest  discussed  the  cause  of  Dr.  Cronin's 
death,  and  argued  that  the  question  for  the  jury  to 
determine  was  not  "  Did  the  man  die  from  violence? 
but,  did  he  die  from  the  particular  wounds  charged 
in  the  indictment  —  wounds  in  the  head,  face  and 
body?  "  He  then  argued  that  the  cause  of  death 
had  not  been  proven;  that  the  physicians  had  sworn 
that  it  could  not  be  shown  whether  the  wounds 
were  post-mortem,  or  ante-mortem,  wounds,  and 


5l6  THE  GREAT   CRONIN   MYSTERY 

their  evidence  shows  that  the  cause  of  death  can- 
not be  shown.  Court  adjourned  until  ten  o'clock 
next  morning.  On  resuming  his  argument, 
Mr.  Forrest  urged  that  the  State  had  failed  to 
prove  that  there  was  any  human  blood  dis- 
covered in.  the  Carlson  cottage.  If  there  was 
blood  under  the  paint,  as  the  State  claimed,  there 
was  plenty  of  time  to  put  it  there  in  order  to  start 
a  museum.  The  floor  was  not  painted  on  May 
1 2th,  as  claimed  by  the  State,  for  old  man  Carlson 
swore  the  paint  was  fresh  when  he  went  in  on  May 
2Oth,  and  it  doesn't  take  paint  eight  days  to  dry. 
O'Sullivan  had  a  bay  horse  with  a  white  face,  so 
it  was  necessary  that  Mertes  should  swear  that  the 
horse  was  a  bay,  with  a  white  face.  But  when 
Mr.  Beck  succeeded  in  persuading  Mrs.  Conklin, 
that  it  was  Dinan's  white  horse,  then  it  was  nec- 
essary that  Mertes  change  the  hour,  and  should 
not  hear  the  sound  of  scuffling,  but  of  hammering. 
Mr.  Forrest  then  proceeded  to  show  how  Mrs. 
Hoertel's  story  was  just  a  mere  pack  of  clever  lies, 
gotten  up  to  fix  out  Mertes'  story.  "  The  only 
thing  deducible,"  said  he,  "  from  these  stories  is, 
that  they  both  saw  the  same  thing.  But  they 
neither  mention  the  other.  Therefore,  neither  of 
them  was  present,  and  both  their  stories  are  fabri- 
cations." 

Mr.  Forrest  resumed  his  remarks  Wednesday 
morning,  and  argued  at  some  length  to  prove  that 
the  white  horse,  which  conveyed  Dr.  Cronin  to  his 
death,  was  not  Dinan's  horse,  and  claimed  on  the 
whole  that  the  guilt  of  his  clients  had  not  been 


LONGENECKER'S  CLOSING  ARGUMENT      517 

legally  established,  and  that  the  jury  would  not  be 
justified  in  returning  a  verdict  of  guilty.  He  closed 
his  remarks  as  follows: 

"  Thus,  gentlemen,  in  the  debate  on  behalf  of 
Martin  Burke  and  Dan  Coughlin,  no  peroration 
have  I  to  make.  A  small  word,  and  the  word  I 
give  you  is  duty,  duty  to  Illinois,  duty  to  your 
God,  duty  to  yourselves. 

"  To  thine  own  self  be  true,  and  it  must  follow, 
as  the  night  the  day,  thou  canst  not  then  be  false 
to  any  man." 

Court  adjourned  until  ten  o'clock  Friday  morning. 

MR.  LONGENECKER'S  CLOSING  ARGUMENT. 

When  court  convened  Friday  morning,  the 
State's  Attorney  began  the  closing  argument  in 
behalf  of  the  prosecution  —  Mr.  Mills,  to  whom 
this  task  had  been  assigned,  having  become  isdis- 
posed.  Mr.  Longenecker  began  his  remarks  by 
saying  that  the  defense  did  not  disclose  its  theory 
until  the  three  day's  argument  of  Mr.  Forrest  re- 
vealed it  to  the  jury,  and  that  theory  was  what? 
asked  Mr.  Longenecker,  who  then  answered  his 
own  question:  "  That  there  was  a  great  conspiracy 
on  the  part  of  the  people;  that  there  was  a  conspir- 
acy to  hang  innocent  men;  a  conspiracy  to  murder 
these  defendants  under  a  guise  of  law."  Mr. 
Longenecker  then  proceeded  to  combat  this  theory 
and  show  "  how  far  men  will  go  in  trying  to  mis- 
lead a  jury."  He  spent  some  time  in  establishing 
the  rectitude  of  his  professional  character,  and  at- 
tacking Forrest  and  Foster  for  daring  to  assume 


518  THE    GREAT   CRONIN   MYSTERY 

that  the  State  had  manufactured  its  testimony 
against  the  defendants.  Mr.  Longenecker  pro- 
ceded  to  take  up  the  various  arguments  made  by 
the  several  counsel  for  the  defense,  and  to  point 
out  their  defects.  He  claimed  that  the  State  had 
given  to  the  jury  a  complete  chain  of  evidence, 
leading  to  the  irresistible  conclusion  of  the  guilt  of 
the  defendants.  He  discussed  the  question  of  a 
reasonable  doubt,  and  argued  that  the  jury  were 
not  to  go  beyond  the  evidence  to  hunt  up  doubts, 
nor  entertain  such  doubts  as  are  merely  chimerical 
or  conjectural.  Mr.  Longenecker  closed  with  the 
following  peroration: 

"  Gentlemen,  I  am  through;  I  promised  you  I 
would  hurry  up.  I  do  not  believe  that  if  I  were 
to  talk  from  now  till  next  June  I  would  change 
your  opinion  one  way  or  another.  If  you  are  set- 
tled to  turn  these  men  loose,  you  will  do  it;  if  you 
believe  this  evidence  is  not  sufficient  to  convict 
them,  why,  of  course,  you  will  acquit  them.  But, 
I  want  to  call  your  attention  to  your  responsibility. 
Gentlemen,  this  is  a  serious  matter;  it  has  got  down 
to  business.  I  have  been  sitting  here  for  weeks, 
and  indisputed  evidence  that  must  lead  your  minds 
to  the  conclusion  that  Dr.  Cronin  was  murdered, 
evidence  that  must  lead  to  the  conclusion  that 
it  was  done  by  a  conspiracy,  evidence  that  must 
convince  your  minds  that  it  was  a  cold-blooded 
murder,  that  it  was  planned  in  secret,  that  it 
was  done  with  the  coolness  of  those  men  who 
swung  the  men  over  the  cliff — you  must  have 
come  to  the  conclusion  that  if  there  ever  was  a 


INSTRUCTIONS   TO   THE   JURY  519 

murder  case  in  which  the  extreme  penalty  of  the 
law  was  demanded  at  your  hands  by  a  verdict  of 
that  kind  this  is  one.  Remember  that  you  are  not 
here  to  acquit  guilty  men;  you  are  not  here  to 
convict  innocent  men.  Remember  that  we  are 
here  insisting  that  this  evidence  is  so  overwhelm- 
ing that  you,  as  honest  men,  under  your  oaths, 
cannot  resist  this  volume  of  proof,  and  that  it 
ought  to  convince  you  beyond  a  reasonable  doubt 
that  all  five  of  these  men  are  guilty  of  this  crime. " 

JUDGE  MCCONNELL'S  INSTRUCTIONS  TO  THE  JURY. 

At  the  close  of  Mr.  Longenecker's  remarka  the 
court  instructed  the  jury  as  follows: 

"  The  jury  are  judges  of  the  law,  as  well  as  of 
the  facts  in  this  case,  and  if  they  can  say,  upon 
their  oaths,  that  they  know  the  law  better  than  the 
court  itself,  they  have  the  right  to  do  so;  but  before 
assuming  so  solemn  a  responsibility  they  should  be 
sure  that  they  are  not  acting  from  caprice  or  preju- 
dice, that  they  are  not  controlled  by  their  will  or 
wishes,  but  from  a  deep  and  confident  conviction 
that  the  court  is  wrong  and  they  are  right.  Before 
saying  this  upon  their  oaths,  it  is  their  duty  to 
reflect,  whether  from  their  study  and  experience 
they  are  better  qualified  to  judge  of  the  law  than 
the  court.  If,  under  all  circumstances,  they  are 
prepared  to  say  that  the  court  is  wrong  in  its  expo- 
sition of  the  law,  the  statute  has  given  them  that 
light. 

"  In  the  language  of  the  statute,  murder  is  the  un- 
lawful killing  of  a  human  being  in  the  peace  of  the 


520  THE   GREAT   CRONIN   MYSTERY 

people,  with  malice  aforethought,  either  expressed 
or  implied.  The  unlawful  killing  may  be  perpe- 
trated by  poisoning,  striking,  starving,  drowning, 
stabbing,  shooting,  or  by  any  other  of  the  various 
forms  or  means  by  which  human  nature  may  be 
overcome  and  death  thereby  occasioned.  Express 
malice  is  that  deliberate  intention  unlawfully  to 
take  away  the  life  of  a  fellow  creature,  which  is 
manifested  by  external  circumstances  capable  of 
proof.  Malice  shall  be  implied  when  no  consider- 
able provocation  appears,  or  when  all  the  circum- 
stances of  the  killing  show  an  abandoned  and 
malignant  heart. 

"  Whoever  is  guilty  of  murder  shall  suffer  the 
punishment  of  death  or  imprisonment  in  the  peni- 
tentiary for  his  natural  life,  or  for  a  term  of  not  less 
than  fourteen  years.  If  the  accused,  or  any  of 
them,  are  found  guilty  by  the  jury  the  jury  shall 
fix  the  punishment  by  their  verdict. 

"  An  ascessory  is  he  who  stands  by  and  aids, 
abets,  or  assists,  or  who,  not  being  present,  aiding, 
abetting,  or  assisting,  hath  advised,  encouraged, 
aided,  or  abetted  the  perpetration  of  the  crime. 
He  who  thus  aids,  abets,  assists,  advises,  or  encour- 
ages shall  be  considered  as  principal,  and  punished 
accordingly.  Every  such  accessory,  when  a  crime 
is  committed  within  or  without  this  State,  by  his 
aid  or  procurement  in  this  State  may  be  indicted 
and  convicted  at  the  same  time  as  the  principal,  or 
before  or  after  his  conviction,  and  whether  the 
principal  is  convicted  or  amendable  to  justice  or  not, 
and  punished  as  principal. 


INSTRUCTIONS   TO   THE  JURY  521 

"  The  manner  or  cause  of  death  which  is  alleged 
in  the  indictment  is  an  essential  element  of  the 
charge  against  the  defendants,  and  the  law  requires 
the  prosecution  to  establish  that  averment  to  your 
satisfaction  beyond  reasonable  doubt,  as  it  is  laid 
in  the  indictment,  before  a  conviction  of  the  defend- 
ants, or  either  of  them,  can  lawfully  be  had.  But 
whether  or  not  the  manner  or  cause  of  death  was 
as  laid  in  the  indictment  may  be  established  by 
circumstantial  evidence  just  as  any  other  fact  essen- 
tial to  conviction  may  be." 

The  court  then  explained  to  the  jury  that  the 
indictment  was  no  evidence  of  the  guilt  of  the  de- 
fendants, and  that  the  prisoners  were  presumed  to 
be  innocent  until  their  guilt  had  been  established 
to  the  satisfaction  of  the  jury,  beyond  any  reason- 
able doubt;  that,  if  the  jury  could  reconcile  the  facts 
in  the  case,  with  any  reasonable  theory  consistent 
with  the  innocence  of  any  or  all  of  the  defendants, 
it  was  their  duty  to  do  so,  and  to  acquit  such  de- 
fendant or  defendants.  The  jury  should  presume 
all  witnesses  to  be  credible,  unless,  in  some  way, 
to  the  satisfaction  of  the  jury,  they  were  impeached. 
The  court  cautioned  the  jury  not  to  consider  any 
evidence  of  any  act,  conduct  or  conversation  occur- 
ring after  the  murder,  against  any  defendant  not  a 
party  to  such  act,  conduct  or  conversation. 

"  Under  the  charge  of  conspiracy  against  any  of 
the  defendants  to  commit  murder,  it  must  be 
proven  beyond  every  reasonable  doubt  that  such 
defendant  combined  with  one  or  more  persons 
in  the  common  purpose  and  with  the  common. 


522  THE   GREAT   CRONIN   MYSTERY 

design  to  murder  the  deceased,  before  you  will 
be  justified  in  believing  that  the  conspiracy 
existed  as  charged  against  him.  Although  you 
may  believe  that  the  defendant  Burke  rented  the 
Carlson  cottage,  and  removed  the  furniture  and 
other  articles  mentioned  in  evidence  from  No.  117 
South  Clark  street  to  the  said  cottage,  and  although 
you  may  further  believe  that  Dr.  Cronin  was 
murdered  in  the  Carlson  cottage,  you  are  advised 
that  these  acts  of  the  defendant  Burke  in  them- 
selves are  insufficient  to  justify  you  in  concluding 
that  he  was  a  party  to  the  alleged  conspiracy,  unless 
it  further  appears  beyond  all  reasonable  doubt  that 
such  acts  of  the  defendant  Burke  were  deliberately 
and  willfully  intended  by  him  to  assist  in  the  perpe- 
tration of  the  crime  of  murder. 

"  Although  you  may  believe  that  Dinan's  horse 
and  buggy  was  used  May  4  to  take  the  doctor 
to  his  death,  you  are  advised  that  the  act  of  the 
defendant  Coughlin  in  engaging  such  horse  and 
buggy  is  insufficient  to  justify  you  in  concluding 
that  he  was  a  party  to  the  alleged  conspiracy,  unless 
it  further  appears  beyond  all  reasonable  doubt 
that  such  act  of  the  defendant  Coughlin  was  delib- 
erately and  willfully  intended  by  him  to  assist  in 
the  perpetration  of  the  crime  of  murder. 

"  Although  you  may  believe  that  the  contract  be- 
tween O'Sullivan  and  Dr.  Cronin  was  used  May  4 
to  decoy  the  doctor  to  his  death,  you  are  advised 
that  the  act  of  the  defendant  O'Sullivan,  in  making 
such  contract  of  itself,  is  insufficient  to  justify  you 
.in  concluding  that  he  was  a  party  to  the  alleged 


INSTRUCTIONS   TO   THE  JURY  523 

conspiracy,  unless  it  further  appears,  beyond  all 
reasonable  doubt,  that  such  act  of  the  defendant 
O'Sullivan  was  deliberately  and  willfully  intended 
by  him  to  assist  in  the  perpetration  of  the  crime  of 
murder,  or  that  he  knowingly  and  corruptly  con- 
sented to  the  use  of  said  contract  in  accomplishing 
the  alleged  murder  of  the  deceased. 

"  In  considering  the  circumstance  of  the  contract 
made  between  Patrick  O'Sullivan  and  Dr.  Cronin, 
you  are  not  permitted  by  the  law  to  take  into  ac- 
count or  draw  any  inference  from  the  fact  that  the 
witnesses  McGarry,  Capt.  Schaack,  Mrs.  T.  T. 
Conklin,  and  others,  testified  that  they  expressed 
the  opinion  to  Patrick  O'Sullivan  in  conversing 
with  him,  that  the  said  contract  was  unbusiness- 
like, unusual,  strange,  and  suspicious;  such  opin- 
ions furnish  you  no  warrant  for  concluding  that 
the  object  and  purpose  of  Patrick  O'Sullivan  in 
making  the  contract  was  illegal  or  criminal. 

"  If  the  jury  believe  from  the  evidence  beyond  a 
reasonable  doubt,  acting  in  the  light  of  the  entire 
charge  of  the  court,  that  the  defendants  now  on 
trial,  or  some  of  them,  conspired  together,  or 
together  and  with  others  who  were  to  the  grand 
jurors  unknown,  to  kill  and  murder  Patrick  Henry 
Cronin,  and  that  one  or  more  of  the  conspirators, 
in  pursuance  and  furtherance  of  the  conspiracy,  did 
kill  and  murder  the  said  Cronin  in  manner  and 
form  as  charged  in  the  indictment,  then  any  or  all 
of  the  defendants  (if  any)  who  so  conspired  are  in 
law  guilty  of  such  murder,  although  they  may  not 


524  THE   GREAT   CRONIJN   MYSTERY 

have  actually  killed  the  said  Cronin  or  been  present 
at  the  time  or  place  of  the  killing. 

"  The  doubt  which  the  juror  is  allowed  to  retain 
on  his  own  mind,  and  under  the  influence  of  which 
he  should  frame  a  verdict  of  not  guilty,  must  always 
be  a  reasonable  one.  A  doubt  produced  by  undue 
sensibility  in  the  mind  of  any  juror,  in  view  of  the 
consequence  of  his  verdict,  is  not  a  reasonable 
doubt,  and  a  juror  is  not  allowed  to  create  sources 
or  material  of  doubt  by  resorting  to  trivial  and 
fanciful  suppositions  and  remote  conjectures  as  to 
possible  states  of  facts  differing  from  that  estab- 
lished by  the  evidence.  You  are  not  at  liberty  to 
disbelieve  as  jurors,  if,  from  the  evidence,  you 
believe  as  men;  your  oath  imposes  no  obligation 
to  doubt  where  no  doubt  would  exist  if  no  oath  had 
been  administered. 

"  In  this  case  the  jury  may,  as  in  their  judgment 
the  evidence  warrants,  find  any  or  all  of  the  defend- 
ants guilty  or  any  or  all  of  them  not  guilty;  and  if, 
in  their  judgment,  the  evidence  warrants,  they  may, 
in  case  they  find  the  defendants,  or  any  of  them, 
guilty,  fix  the  same  penalty  for  all  the  defendants 
found  guilty,  or  different  penalties  for  the  different 
defendants  found  guilty. 

"  And  in  case  they  find  the  defendants,  or  any  of 
them,  guilty  of  murder,  they  should  fix  the  penalty 
either  at  death  or  at  imprisonment  for  life  in  the 
penitentiary,  or  at  imprisonment  in  the  penitentiary 
fora  term  of  any  number  of  years  not  less  than 
fourteen. 

"  And  I  want  to  say  verbally  to  the  jurors  that  if 


THE   VERDICT  $25 

you  have  taken  any  notes  during  the  progress  of 
the  case  they  must  not  be  used  in  the  jury-room." 
At  the  conclusion  of  the  judge's  charges  five 
bailiffs  were  sworn  in  the  usual  form  to  take  charge 
of  the  jury,  and  the  latter  retired  to  consider  their 
verdict 

AT  LAST  THE   VERDICT. 

After  three  days' deliberation  the  jury,  at  2:30 
o'clock  Monday  afternoon,  December  16,  returned  i 
into  open  court  and  rendered  their  verdict  as 
follows  :  Daniel  Coughlin,  Martin  Burke,  Patrick 
O'Sullivan  and  JohnKunze,  guilty  ;  John  F.  Beggs, 
not  guilty.  The  punishment  of  Coughlin,  Burke 
and  O'Sullivan  was  fixed  at  life  imprisonment^  and 
Kunze  at  imprisonment  for  three  years,  and  thus 
ends  the  great  Cronin  mystery.  The  trial,  whose 
ghastly  details  for  more  than  three  months  past 
have  excited  a  morbid  interest  in  the  minds  of 
English-speaking  people  throughout  the  world,  has 
now  become  one  of  those  causes  celebre  that  will 
always  be  referred  to  whenever  the  great  crim- 
inal trials  of  the  world  are  cited,  not  only  on 
account  of  its  significance  in  the  matter  of 
revealing  to  the  world  the  dangers  which  threaten 
the  stability  of  established  institutions,  and 
the  proper  administration  of  justice  among  men, 
through  the  existence  of  secretly  organized  oath- 
bound  tribunals,  but  also  on  account  of  the  further 
important  fact  it  reveals,  /'.  e. ,  the  sufficiency  of 
the  self-governed  American  people  to  successfully 
cope  with  the  most  formidable  enemy  to  the 
peace  and  permanence  of  their  free  institu- 


526      THE  GREAT  CRONIN  MYSTERY 

tions.  It  was  the  longest  criminal  trial  that 
has  ever  occurred  in  this  country,  consuming 
something  over  a  hundred  and  ten  days. 
It  required  nearly  seven  weeks  to  secure  a  jury. 
The  selection  of  the  jury  began  August  3Oth,  and 
was  completed  October  22d.  One  thousand  and 
ninety-one  men  were  summoned  by  special  venire, 
and  twenty-four  from  the  regular  venire  —  in  all, 
one  thousand  one  hundred  and  fifteen.  Of  these, 
nine  hundred  were  examined  and  excused  by  the 
lawyers  for  cause,  and  one  hundred  and  seventy- 
five  were  excused  peremptorily,  the  prosecution 
excusing  thus  seventy-eight,  and  the  defense  ninety- 
seven.  The  actual  trial  —  the  hearing  of  testimony 
—  was  begun  October  24th,  and  closed  Friday, 
November  29th.  Then  followed  the  arguments  of 
counsel  and  the  court's  charge  to  the  jury.  At  4 
o'clock  Friday  afternoon,  December  I3th,  the  jury 
retired  to  consider  their  verdict,  and  returned  the 
same  into  court  as  above  related. 

The  trial  throughout  was  of  absorbing  interest 
to  hundreds  of  thousands  of  people,  and  the  news- 
papers of  Chicago  exhibited  remarkable  enterprise 
in  promptly  gathering  and  reporting  all  the  essen- 
tial features  of  the  trial.  The  Herald,  at  an  enor- 
mous expense,  engaged  a  special  force  of  the  best 
shorthand  writers  that  could  be  employed  in 
Chicago,  superintended  by  John  W.  Postgate,  the 
well-known  writer  and  reporter,  to  prepare  the 
detailed  proceedings  for  its  columns.  Through 
this  independent  enterprise  of  the  Herald,  that 
paper  was  able  to  give  to  its  readers  an  accurate 


THE   VERDICT  527 

account  of  the  trial  in  narrative  form,  which  was  at 
once  intelligible  and  pleasing. 

It  is  very  much  owing  to  the  newspapers  that 
the  great  trial  was  carried  through  to  its  proper 
determination.  They  dragged  into  daylight  all 
the  midnight  plottings  of  the  prisoner's  friends, 
and  brought  to  naught  the  wicked  endeavors  of 
those  who  sought,  through  the  corruption  of  jurors, 
to  obstruct  the  due  administration  of  justice  in  the 
tribunal  of  the  people. 


THE    END. 


